AFIB

[Texas Proud]

Thanks for this! In July my heart rate jumped for no reason to 160 for about 5 hours. Hospital and months of tests (month-long Holter, Echocardiogram etc) says there is and was no AFIB. But my brother's experience coupled to my chronic PVCs has me paranoid and feeling like the sword of Damocles could drop any second. I check my BP every morning and night (and have 2000+ rows on an Excel sheet to prove it!)

My PCP is not worried and says that I shouldn't.

Your commentary is helpful.

They are not worried but they are the one that are not going to die...


My BIL had heart problems with a few heart surgeries and a pacemaker... he had regular visits with a cardiologist... he had a normal visit with his and got a clean bill of health... a few weeks later had a fatal heart attack... Not sure about this but was told it was in a bottom chamber and the pacemaker was for the top... they read the pacemaker afterwards and they said it was firing off a bunch when he died...

 

[bmcgonig]

At age 75 his CHA2DS2 score is automatically 2 so if he has just one more condition such as being on BP medication to put his score at 3 his EP may advise he stay on blood thinners.

https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/801/cha2ds2-vasc-score-atrial-fibrillation-stroke-risk

Not sure about that Alan. I think it depends on whether the AFib is considered cured. The above is for those with AFib. An ablation is considered successful if you’re AFib free for a year so I’ve read. But I guess there’s always risk of it returning. ?

 

[Alan]

Not sure about that Alan. I think it depends on whether the AFib is considered cured. The above is for those with AFib. An ablation is considered successful if you’re AFib free for a year so I’ve read. But I guess there’s always risk of it returning. ��

I don’t believe Afib is ever considered cured as it often comes back years later and the scoring above does not even give a point for having had Afib, I think having had Afib indicates the probability of future heart rhythm irregularities. Many I know over the age of 75 are on blood thinners.

I’m really just saying that it is not a given he will be taken off his blood thinners.

 

[RonBoyd]

My worst PVCs are caused by regular coffee. Do you drink it?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/me...d=Win10NewsApp&item=flights:prg-mobileappview

Drinking two to three cups of joe a day might help you live longer and reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, a new study suggests.

In the study, published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, researchers found that mild to moderate intake of ground, instant and decaffeinated coffee were all linked to "significant reductions" in mortality and cardiovascular disease – including coronary heart disease, cardiac failure and ischaemic stroke.

The research found that participants who drank two to three cups of coffee saw the largest risk reductions in comparison to non-coffee drinkers. For example, ground coffee in this amount lowered the risk of death by 27%, followed by 14% for decaffeinated and 11% for instant, the European Society of Cardiology noted.

 

[Richard4444]

From what I have been told by my EP and cardiologist, once you have a successful ablation there is no longer a need for blood thinners (You can google that). If aFib returns, then back on blood thinners or another ablation. The CHADS-VaSC rating is for those with aFib, but after a successful ablation, one does not have aFib.... so monitoring does need to continue either with an implantable monitor (loop recorder), watches, etc. Many aFib episodes are asymptomatic and occur in your sleep, so you cannot just rely on when you feel that you are in aFib.

Rich

 

[Alan]

From what I have been told by my EP and cardiologist, once you have a successful ablation there is no longer a need for blood thinners (You can google that). If aFib returns, then back on blood thinners or another ablation. The CHADS-VaSC rating is for those with aFib, but after a successful ablation, one does not have aFib.... so monitoring does need to continue either with an implantable monitor (loop recorder), watches, etc. Many aFib episodes are asymptomatic and occur in your sleep, so you cannot just rely on when you feel that you are in aFib.

Rich

The problem is a possible asymptomatic return of Afib that is missed until a stroke happens. It is exactly 4 years since my successful ablation procedure and my EP took me off blood thinners a couple of months later after no further occurrences. We talked about the future possibility of blood thinners and the CHADS-VaSC scoring system and he told me that many doctors would start advising blood thinners at age 75 and beyond when there has been a history of AFib because, as you rightly point above, "Many aFib episodes are asymptomatic and occur in your sleep, so you cannot just rely on when you feel that you are in aFib."

I have 8 years to go before I reach age 75 and I have no idea how I will feel about it, but since August this year my routine checks with my Kardia device has shown me to be in AFib, and then okay 30 minutes later.