Such a personal decision Mabal, but first, so sorry to hear about your Mum, never a good time but particularly sad at this time of the year.
Unless someone has a history of internal bleeding directly or with a close family member, many err on the side of wanting to minimise the risk of stroke. However, the last speaker at our AF Support Group meeting raised an interesting point. He said that the CHADs score is more of a guide and suggested that points from having high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke history and other medical conditions were more pertinent than the points from gender and age. I think I would still err on the side of caution……..
Presumably the cardioversipn was from fibto NSR. Congrats, Hopefully you will
ztay inNSR , Having been in AFib with a Chad as of 1, all the literature says you have 5 times thatof stroke. Ask your doc if he has good reason to stop the apicaban . I would be very leery.
Interestingly despite being a strong advocate of anticoagulation , in this case I tend to agree with your cardiologist. In some quarters the 1 point for being female is challenged and only introduced where there are other co morbidities. For example when you reach 65 and have one for age your score would then be 2 but now it would be zero. Strange I know but I'm trying to be even handed here. Different countries have different ideas on this.
Obviously if your AF returns you might like to re assess .
So sorry to hear you lost your mum. The funeral etc will be stressful and AF may not kick-off then but be wary of the time when it is all over as relaxation after stress can start an episode if you have a Vagus Nerve issue. If I was you I would plan an excursion for the following day rather than 'rest & recovery' at home.
Re the anticoags I am with your cardiologist provided you are active and have no co-morbidities. Suggest you stop taking them maybe 1 week after the funeral.
Your reply seemed sound to me unfortunately Mabel will be going through a stressful time . I’m sorry for your loss, Mabal.But secondtry, I would like to talk about the vagal issue. I’m on metoprolol, Eliquis and now Flecainide 50 mg twice a day to prevent episodes. It’s fabulous, but, one night at 5:00 pm I exercised as usual and 6 hours later a different type of beat, more like rapid spurts, started and lasted about an hour until an extra 12.5 of metoprolol stopped it. Now I am afraid to exercise.( I usually go on the elliptical for 30 minutes.) I miss it terribly because it makes me feel so good. Can I no longer exercise aerobically? I always went into AF when completely relaxed. Thoughts?
Hi Cos56. How long have you been on the Flecainide? My cardiologist put me on 50mg of it to control rhythm because I had a very rambunctious AFib run. The Flecainide CAUSED me a different arrhythmia like what you describe. As soon as I stopped taking the Flec the arrhythmia runs stopped. I now take Flecainide only as a PIP. Just a thought.
I started December 10. Waited a couple weeks then exercised and felt the different kind of “run” of beats. Got scared and stopped. Haven’t seen the EP yet again. I will in March.
As far as exercise goes, my experience was I used to play a lot of sports but when AF hit at the worst time I could feel even walking slowly up a slight hill might set an episode off. So I stopped all of it and once the episodes had been stopped (with Flecainide and lifestyle changes) I have slowly built it back and am now fully active again. I have however not gone back to my old sports of tennis and skiing as because my AF is vagally mediated and because of my style of play/altitude I havn't risked it.
So if I was you stop all the exercise and build it back slowly so you can give yourself the best chance of identifying when a problem starts and why.
I see. I’m afraid it’s a dangerous arrhythmia. I’m not afraid of AF anymore lol. This different “run “ of beats scared me.I see the EF in March. In the meantime, I really mis the “high” and well-being from exercise . It’s such a loss.
I think he was trying to prevent episodes, which it has, but jeez. And I feel bad complaining after hearing what others here suffer.
I had Cryo ablation for AFIB and came off Apixaban with a score of 2 . Anticoagulants don’t stop bleeds/strokes in all circumstances and are a risk themselves.
Certainly won't stop a bleed as they are designed to do the opposite and slow coagulation to avoid a clot blocking an artery. It's true that Apixaban has side affects for some people but it is probably the most well tolerated one we are given. I've been on it since I had a stroke 2 years ago. It causes me no problems. I'm 78.
So sorry for your loss mabal. I was in a similar situation in Oct last yr. I’d already had 3 cardioversions & then an ablation which worked for 2 yrs, then in March I went back into persistent af again & I had another cardioversion in aug. All was fine till my mum passed away end of sept, the funeral had to wait nearly 4wks. Was v stressed & 2 wks later I was back in persistent Af, I’m supposedly on list for another ablation but can’t get in touch with anyone to find out. If I was you I would leave it till after the funeral & life has settled down a bit you just don’t know how stress is going to affect you. Def have another word with doc if possible. X
If the cardiologist tells you after an ablation to stop taking Apixaban, that would be what I would do. They know best.
In any case if he has advised that, I very much doubt you will be able to continue to get a prescription and it is definitely not an over the counter drug.
If anything you should be celebrating you don't have to take it. I've been taking it for 5 years now with definitely no end in sight. I would very much like to be in your position.
That sounds like progress ! You may wish to download the patient information sheet 'Apixaban' from the A F Association patient resources, for an overview of the medication : heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...
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