anti coagulant pill in pocket

[Tomred]

hi does anyone take an anticoagulant for af as a pill in pocket thinking of asking my gp could i start as a p.i.p im 59 year old male taking bisop and multaq 400 also wondering if taking this way would it really have time to work at onset of bout of paf

[BobD Volunteer]

That is really not a good idea!

If you have AF you have a stroke risk. That risk is then further defined by your Chadsvasc score. If you need anticoagulant you should take it all the time. As I have said before you can always stop anticoagulation but you can't undo a stroke.

Apart from anything else how do you know when an AF event occurs when many people are asymptomatic or when you could be sleeping?

[Tomred in reply to BobD]

thanks for bob d for quick reply and putting it in perspective i asked because i wondered about it after reading here a few weeks back about someone else said their ep gave it as pip after they requested it my chads score is 0 and my consultant said id probably be put on anti -coag when im 65 and been 59 at present thats 6 years of dread everytime i take a bout

[Auriculaire in reply to Tomred]

You could try natural anticoagulants like nattokinase ,fish oil or curcumin if you are refused a prescription one. The problem with these are how much to take but you could err on the cautious side and it might help you stop worrying.

[Jumper in reply to Tomred]

If your Chads score is 0 then as you have indicated there is no requirement for coagulation. This because your stroke risk is low and the converse bleeding risk will be greater than the stroke risk. The bleeding risk is for serious bleeds that require hospitalisation. This can include brain haemorrhage and internal bleeds. The application of coagulation therapy is when the crossover point is reached and your risk of stroke is considered more highly than bleeding risk. To take anticoags now only transfers the worry of an emboli stroke to haemorrhagic stroke plus major internal bleeds. As you get older the stroke risk climbs particularly after 70. ( there is plenty of data on graphs that show risks with age)! Also even when the risks of stroke related to AF are ,in part, diminished when taking anti coats the bleeding risk remains.

[SRMGrandma Volunteer]

Since it is believed that your stroke risk remains high for at least 30 days following an Afib episode, that's not a good idea. Even if you are someone who can always tell when you are in Afib, the need for an anticoagulant is not based on the amount of time that you are in Afib, but rather the CHADS2 VASc score.

[Tomred in reply to SRMGrandma]

thank you for reply this is the first time ive heard that risk of stroke remains for up to 30 days after afib bout so i take a bout approx every 3-4 weeks so would my risk be continually there where have you read or heard about the 30 day risk this whole afib thing seems to be getting worse

[SRMGrandma Volunteer in reply to Tomred]

here you go, ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10....

[Tomred in reply to SRMGrandma]

thank you