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Re: Potassium intake - 3 days ago

QuoteEricY Has anyone asked their Dr. if there is a test to determine your potassium and magnesium levels at a cellular level? For magnesium, yes. For potassium, not that I know of and I don't think such a test would be useful. Potassium is constantly moving between the vascular space, dissolved in plasma, and the intracellular space in muscle cells. When muscles cells contract and relax

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: deteremining afib status - 3 days ago

It does, but like I said, it will require some EKG interpretation skills to know if what you're looking at is of atrial or ventricular origin. But even without those skills, it will identify afib for you. But it won't identify things like flutter, SVT, etc, which often go hand in hand with afib, and that's where the EKG interpretation comes in. You can pay Kardia to have a cardiolo

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: deteremining afib status - 4 days ago

Quoteacantha If there are devices that can separate the upper an lower chambers, that would be great. Sure, it's called a 12-lead EKG. And among consumer devices there's the Kardia 6L. However, neither one is going to show you separate recordings for atrial and ventricular beats. You'll have to learn some EKG interpretation to understand that information.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Newly diagnosed with Afib - 4 days ago

Quotejustjoe906 As far as the Apixaban blood thinner, is anyone on this and if so any issues with it? I've read several sites that mention the sides effects and all not good. Changing toothbrush for instance, heavy bleeding if cut and brain bleeds if you hit your head among others. I don't know what you've been reading but I recommend finding better sources. I've been on it

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Post ablation questions - 4 days ago

QuoteEricY I should have mentioned earlier I have been on both Metoprolol and Flecainide for over 10 years. Relevant info! Yeah, you should definitely taper the metoprolol.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Post ablation questions - 4 days ago

I've started and stopped both flecainide and metoprolol several times, both cold turkey. Flecainide doesn't need weaning, but beta blockers do if you've been on them a long time (more than a few months). I was never on metoprolol more than about a year and stopping cold turkey was still no problem for me. So it's really individual. I would stop all of them cold turkey, an

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: PFA vs. RF - 18 days ago

The advantage of PFA is safety and time, not efficacy.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Tikosyn question - 18 days ago

Tikosyn after an ablation is rather unusual, and especially when the EP says it may be long-term. Tikosyn is a heavy hitter. Most EPs would use something milder like Multaq, sotalol, or flecainide (flec probably not indicated with the cardiomyopathy). Anyway, iit's reasonable to prescribe an antiarrhythmic following an ablation, but only for a short period, typically a month or so. Saying i

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Fluoroscopy - 20 days ago

QuoteQwackertoo What is the difference between a touch up ablation w/Watchman placement vs a Re-Do with Watchman placement? When appointment is made within 3 days after the initial ablation? A touch-up procedure is finding the spots where afib signals are getting past the previous ablation lines. It's usually one or two burns vs dozens for a full ablation. And the Watchman is no more th

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Fluoroscopy - 21 days ago

A touch-up ablation and Watchman should be much shorter than your initial procedure. And there's really no way around fluoroscopy. They have to know exactly where they are in the heart and they also need to check the Watchman for leaks. So minimizing the time they use it is really all they can do.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: What % of EPs are capable of isolating LAA? - 23 days ago

Quotejasams I believe Natale does an electrical isolation of the laa when he does a watchman, since doing one after a watchman is much more complicated and prone to problems. This is not correct. Natale isolates the LAA only if the LAA is in fact a source of afib or flutter. The LAA can be isolated with a Watchman in place, but you're right that it does make it a little more complicated.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

GLP-1 drugs lower AF risk regardless of weight loss - 23 days ago

The following is a summary of a paper presented at HRS 2026 today. EMBARGOED UNTIL THURSDAY, APRIL 23 AT 11:00 AM CT / 12:00 PM ET NEW STUDY LINKS GLP-1 MEDICATIONS TO LOWER RISK OF ATRIAL FIBRILLATION, INDEPENDENT OF WEIGHT LOSS CHICAGO, IL, APRIL 23, 2026 – A new study analyzing data from more than 13,000 patients found that people using the increasingly popular weight-loss drugs kno

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: generic for Xarelto - 23 days ago

They are not. Generic 2.5 mg is available in the US but none of the other dosages are yet. Not sure why that is but I would expect it will rectify itself fairly soon.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Nasal Spray for SVT - 26 days ago

Link to the article

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Medication - 27 days ago

QuoteCarlorea Has anyone in my situation been given all 3 of these meds? Literally millions of people have, including a large percentage of the members here (including me). It's a very routine regimen for afib. The flecainide prevents afib, the bisoprolol protects you against a dangerous side-effect of flecainide (and also lowers your heart rate and BP), and the Xarelto protects you agai

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Test - 29 days ago

Are your episodes increasing?

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: What % of EPs are capable of isolating LAA? - 5 weeks ago

Quotenonthumper Now, is it possible he should have left me in Afib and see if the condition lessened as my heart healed post prcedure? (Is this what is referred to as the "blanking period"?) I don't know. No, it would not have lessened. If an ablation doesn't stop the afib, then there won't be any healing post procedure. You'll just remain in afib and the modeli

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: What % of EPs are capable of isolating LAA? - 5 weeks ago

The trouble with that reasoning is that 1) sometimes the source of the afib/flutter is the LAA. No procedure of any sort would ever have stopped my flutter if the LAA wasn't dealt with. 2) The LAA is very often the reason that the success rates for longstanding persistent afib are so miserably bad. Natale and a handful of others first began isolating the LAA for this very reason, and it'

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: What % of EPs are capable of isolating LAA? - 5 weeks ago

Quotenonthumper I would have preferred to take my 1% risk of stroke over the 1% risk from anesthesia and the ablation (if that's what the risk is). The trouble with that logic is the risk from the procedure is a one-time thing while the risk of stroke is every single day for the rest of your life. So ask yourself this: If my risk of stroke is 1% per year, what's the risk of suffering

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: What % of EPs are capable of isolating LAA? - 5 weeks ago

Quotegloaming I think the percentage would be very high Actually, it's quite the opposite. Electrical isolation of the LAA is a relatively new procedure. Although surgeons have been clipping off and sewing the LAA shut for decades, interventional cardiologists have only been ablating it since about 10 years ago. (Pioneered by you know who.) So it's not something most EPs have been tra

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Eliquis & cataract surgery - 5 weeks ago

You can definitely stop Eliquis for 5-7 days, but I would double check with the surgeon. I've never had cataract surgery and don't know for sure, but my understanding of the procedure is that bleeding isn't really an issue. The only incision is into the cornea, and it doesn't have a blood supply.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Resting heart rate - 6 weeks ago

I've experienced prodromal symptoms before, and heard from many others who have too, but I've never heard of bradycardia being one of them. That seems a bit odd.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Inconsistent blood pressure - 7 weeks ago

Hypertension does "cause" afib but that's over a long period of time and due to atrial stretching, as you said. Unlikely that it's causing afib in an acute sense.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Need a “quick & dirty” answer - 7 weeks ago

Unless you know how your body responds to the combination I wouldn't combine diltiazem and metoprolol. They both lower BP and the combination might be too much. I would probably just take the metoprolol a bit sooner.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Normal activites - 7 weeks ago

I always just ignored it and went about whatever it was I was doing. I'm an avid cyclist and more than once I found myself in afib 20 miles from home in an area with no cell signal. So what choice is there? Those rides home were slow, especially on the hills, but there was really nothing else I could do.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Inconsistent blood pressure - 7 weeks ago

Then I'd say it's time to address the problem before it becomes 100%. It's not likely to be due to your BP.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Inconsistent blood pressure - 7 weeks ago

Quotegbaileytx Afib no up to 75%. Did you mean to say you're in afib 75% of the time?

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Why aren't more afibbers trying potassium? - 7 weeks ago

QuoteGeorgeN True for capsules & tablets. Not true for powders. Yes, I'm aware. I used to buy pure potassium chloride by the kilo. But I thought he was describing a pill.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Mixed feelings about long distance doctoring - 7 weeks ago

What the heck is an emergency ablation?

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Why aren't more afibbers trying potassium? - 7 weeks ago

QuoteTomR Another key issue to clarify, it seems, is quantifying the elemental potassium dose, since it is often unclear what is being referred to in some posts. NOW Foods potassium citrate powder label says that 1,400 mg contains 448 mg of potassium which is 32% strength. Did you buy it in the US or have it shipped to the US? If so, it can't contain more than 99 mg of elemental potassium.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM