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Re: Medicare and ablation - 5 years ago

There are some Medicare Advantage plans that do cover out of state care. I have UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage Choice Plan 1 (Regional PPO), live in NY, and had it cover 2 Natale ablations in Austin and just paid a copay each time. From their description: This PPO plan gives you freedom to see any provider nationwide that accepts Medicare plus access to network costs when you see doctor

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: abbreviations - 5 years ago

Here is a good starter list; click on the letter of your term or abbreviation: A-Fib Medical Terms and Abbreviations

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: I'm Not Lying About My Ablation --- - 5 years ago

I concur with Carey, St Davids food is the best. I would even go there just for the food . St Davids Patient Menu in 2019

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: What to eat for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner when you have AFIB - 6 years ago

Thanks all for your responses and suggestions of what and when to eat. I never realized that eating food correctly with AFIB/Flutter requires so much measurement and could be so complicated. Doing things you suggest is very difficult when you have a spouse who does not appreciate eating alone or not eating her favorite foods. I will cut out the chocolate for a week (taking for insurance agains

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

What to eat for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner when you have AFIB - 6 years ago

During these trying Covid times many people (me) are eating the same stuff every day. In this Forum we have had many discussions about AFIB triggers (things to avoid). What about the other side - what specific foods do people on this Forum eat that they feel is good for their AFIB. I would guess that some people are on diets (low carb, Mediterranean, low fat, Paleo, vegan, Atkins, etc.), but I

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Flutter heartrate concern? - 6 years ago

Thanks Carey. I found a study from 2016 that also shows that using Flecainide and Metoprolol together is more effective (at least for rhythm control) than using these two drugs separately. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26893497/ This study is a monocentric, prospective, randomized, open-blinded trial on 173 patients with a recent episode of paroxysmal or persistent AF. Patients were

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Flutter heartrate concern? - 6 years ago

I have always heard on this board that Flec is an antiarrhythmic drug and that we would likely also need a beta or calcium channel blocker to reduce the heart rate. But when I look at the description of Flec from the the Mayo Clinic they also mention that it treats fast heartbeats like Flutter and Tachycardia. So if Ritva only has a fast and regular heartbeat (flutter) is Flec alone appropriate

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Eliquis 2.5mg dosing - 6 years ago

Thanks, Carey. What else will the doctors need to know to determine if I can stop Metoprolol and Eliquis?

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Eliquis 2.5mg dosing - 6 years ago

I had an ablation a year ago from Dr Natale and am very pleased with the result so far. I was in permanent Afib for around a year before the ablation. According to my report, Dr Natale isolated my LAA at the same time he did the ablation (he knows how to do two things at once). I have been Afib free most of the time. However, there have been 4 instances of SVT or Atrial Flutter (not sure w

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: What if you don’t remember taking your evening Eliquis dose? - 6 years ago

Not sure what to do in your specific pill mix-up situation, but if you load up your pill organizer once a week, then you will not have this problem.

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: question about ablation - 6 years ago

I have a United Healthcare Medicare Advantage plan and it paid for my Natale ablation last year using the In-Network rate. At that time you needed the Passport stamp on the card; now the program was renamed to Medicare National Network (Choice Plan 1 - Regional PPO). Other companies may have similar plans. In any event you should still check with Natale's office.

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Phoenix area EP care - 7 years ago

From the Wall Street Journal Medicare payments database for VIJENDRA SWARUP M.D. in 2015: He is the top 20% nationwide in terms of volume for Medicare patients with these Afib procedure codes: 93656-F, 93655-F, 93613-F, 93657-F, and 93621-F.

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Questions For E P From Newbie - 7 years ago

See the message Questions for an EP.

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Can Taurine cause ectopics? - 7 years ago

Heart Calm contains 1000mg of Taurine.

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Dr. Peter Weiss - 7 years ago

From the Wall Street Medicare billing database in 2015, I find a Dr J. P. WEISS, 324 TENTH AVE 206 | SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. Assume the middle initial P is for Peter. I selected the following procedure codes that relate to Afib. Note that CODE 93657-F is probably the most significant for ablations. CODE: 93656-F: Evaluation and insertion of catheters for recording, pacing, and treatment of ab

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: First EP appointment - 7 years ago

Below are some questions you can ask. They are mainly used to select an EP, but you may find some useful. Questions to ask an EP.

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

The Atrial Fibrillation Diet: How to Beat A-Fib with Food - 7 years ago

The following article comes from Dr John Day's website. In it he provides a very thorough analysis of how we can improve our AFIB through diet. Actually, many of his ideas have been discussed on this Forum like Jackie and Elizabeth's Functional Medicine thoughts and George N's ideas on fasting. Dr Day gives an even analysis by quoting both positive and negative results of differen

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Natural Cold meds cause AFib?? - 7 years ago

According to Wikipedia this is what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, does: It is the leading national public health institute of the United States. The CDC is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. However, Elizabeth is correct that there is also a CDC Foundation (about 1/2 way down the W

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Anyone here take Heart Calm? - 7 years ago

Components seem to be similar to our AFIB Strategy (magnesium, potassium, taurine).

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Natural Cold meds cause AFib?? - 7 years ago

Here is some 2018 data from WebMD and the CDC on the impact (death) of not giving the flu vaccine to children: Feb. 15, 2018 -- As in the past, most children who have died of the flu so far this season had not been vaccinated, according to the CDC. In previous flu seasons, as many as 85% of children who died after getting the flu had not been vaccinated.

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: 60% of afibbers may not need blood thinners - 7 years ago

I think it is good for this forum to express different points of view for new readers. New readers should do their own research if they have questions about different options. All of these new blood thinner drugs require a doctor's prescription so there is some oversight. Remember it was just a few years ago that aspirin was considered an acceptable blood thinner by many doctors (and so

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Happy Thanksgiving to all former and current Afibbers! - 7 years ago

Shannon, many thanks to you and the regulars on the board who give their time and knowledge to help us Afibbers live a more peaceful, healthy, and normal life. I am counting on Dr Natale to do the same.

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: List of the top 5 Electrophysiogist in the United States - 7 years ago

I would assume Dr Natale only does RF ablations - no cryo.

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Dr. Natale - 7 years ago

Dr Natale will need your local records before giving approval for an ablation. I would suspect that when you request your local records to be sent to Dr Natale your local EP/Cardiologist will know of the request but should not challenge you as the patient making the request. Dr Natale has approved me for a one-trip consult/procedure in Austin sometime next year. I have switched to a Medicar

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Respected EP in Louisiana for AFIB Ablation? - 7 years ago

I have also been trying to figure out the best way to pay for a Dr Natale ablation while being on Medicare. The issue is complicated and I am no expert. You should go to one of the Medicare Enrollment period seminars to find out what is best for you. What I explain below may not apply in your case. I started by looking up the insurances accepted on Dr Natale's TCA website at . Near the bo

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Any idea why my posts are not appearing? - 7 years ago

Barb, I believe the problem is that thread now has 4 pages and you may only be looking at page 4. Below is your post on page 2, is this what you are looking for? If so, click on each page number in the post header: tobherd [ PM ] Re: Is it OK to have a little alcohol now that I no longer have Afib? October 14, 2018 10:06PM Registered: 6 years ago Posts: 420 Hmm...don't know what

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Blanking period blips - 7 years ago

I use the HealForce Prince device on Windows 10 and it works fine to print traces. The PC is not needed to record and view traces. I use the device without the leads and place on my chest, under my heart for best results. Shows nice traces.

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Warfarin - 7 years ago

If you take your pills (Xarelto or Eliquis) in the morning and then fall on cement, you will have more anticoagulant in your body with Xarelto when you fall.

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Questions to ask while selecting your EP and how to interpret their answers - 7 years ago

Of all the questions to ask your EP, I would say the most important is "What is your Success Rate?". However, the definition of success can vary among EPs and the number of "touch up ablations" can also vary. We would all like an EP who performs "one and done". As the answer web page from the link indicates "If their success rate is 50% or less, you should p

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM

Questions to ask while selecting your EP and how to interpret their answers - 7 years ago

There are several recent threads in our Phorum about how to select your EP and the questions to ask. While assembling those questions for myself I came across a website that has already prepared those questions in a PDF file. I should add that the website is marketing a book, but the questions are available to use directly from the website. The website that has the questions is a-fib.com and

by JakeL - AFIBBERS FORUM