Hi All,
I wonder if I could let me know your experiences with pre ablation blood thinners. I was diagnosed with PAF this summer and I’m considered low risk so currently on the pill in the pocket regime and no anticoagulants.
I may of miss heard but I thought my EP said start 3 months before the procedure and he set me up for an appointment for yesterday with a view to doing the ablation in “January” (they have since lost half my notes so heaven knows when it will actually happen). When I went to the anti coagulant clinic yesterday the nurse read that the EP wanted me to start them 7 days before hand.
I was wondering what your time line was for starting blood thinners prior to an ablation?
Many thanks.
Nelspet
Three months is normal Nelspent.
The nurse may have meant STOP them seven days before but this is old fashoined now and many EPs do ablations while the patient is still anticoagulated.
Please understand these drugs do not thin blood. It is a quite incorect term for what they do but sadly is in common missuse these days. They slow down the clotting process to help prevent strokes and being anticoagulated for three months prior to ablation helps to ensure that there are no clots sitting in the heart which may be ejected and cause a stroke. Your blood does not change viscosity at all.
To conclude I suggest that you write to the EP and clarify the situation for the clinic as you really would be at risk otherwise.
Many thanks BobD and Pottypete1.
I’ll call them back and check, I don’t want to jeopardise my appointment.
Nelspet
Hi BobD,
Just double checked with the Doctor and he says the nurse was correct, take them one week beforehand and not on the morning of the ablation. I then take them for 3 months after that.
I’ll politely grill them at my next appointment!
Regards,
Nelspet.
VERY strange. No doubt not warfarin which needs to be got into range well before. I suspect they will then do a TOE (trans oesophageal echocardiogram ) before the procedure to check for any clots which may have formed. I wonder why you thought he said three months?
I would also query why they want you to stop on the morning of the procedure. It is during the ablation that it is most important to be anticoagulated with a proper anticoagulant (i.e. warfarin or an NOAC and not heparin or the other "bridging" anticoagulants).
Thanks Mark.
I did wonder that too, I’ll ask them at my next appointment.