Hi, I have a phone appt with my cardio next week, he wants to discuss putting me on anti coagulants,following a few episodes of a fib caught on a live cor . I know that I need to follow his advice obviously,just wondering others experience with the point system he will use. Im under 65, with none of the conditions listed, other than being under investigation for angina,caused by either coronary heart disease,which could be. Or coronary artery spasm ,/microvascular angina. My tests scheduled to diagnose me have been cancelled,possibly for many more months. Hence my concern about an undiagnosed condition being used in my cardios decision. Im in the Uk. Would appreciate anyones experience with this greatly.
Do I need anti coagulants?..... - Atrial Fibrillati...
Do I need anti coagulants?.....
Written by
Goldenheart
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Read more about...
85 Replies
•
BobDVolunteer
In my view your heart disease is enough incentive to start anticoagulation so I tend to agree with your cardiologist. As the old saying goes you can always stop anticoagulation but you can't undo a stroke.
Hi Bob,thankyou for replying. Yes i know what your saying, but as yet i havent had a confirmed diagnosis of heart disease,..ive beentold my angina could be caused by coronary artery spasm. Or microvascular angina, or a mixture,as patients can have both. My cat scan heart results showed clear arteries,with only a fleck of a blockage, two years ago. But my cardio is now saying,l need further tests to rule out heart disease. Which still leaves a ? My concern about anti coagulating is the bleed risk.
Bleed risk whilst not to be ignored is vastly overstated by most people who are not already on anticoagulants. After sixteen years taking warfarin and still working building and machining race car engines and doing sometimes quiet radical work in my wild country side garden I have yet to need any kind of intervention for any injuries I may have had. As far as bruises go my wife who is not anticoagulated bruises far more than I ever do.
Bob, are there any other significant side effects?
Having been on warfarin for over 16 years about the only thing I notice is slightly brittle nails, but there are reports from others about slight hair loss. The only hair loss I ever suffered was body hair whilst on hormone treatment for cancer. Right now with lockdown I look like the wild man of Borneo.
Bob gives great advise take note. He is a very wise man. I don't particularly like the bruising but if it is a choice between bruises or stroke, I take the bruising for sure. We are very lucky that we now have the NOACS which do not require constant blood tests llike Warfarin. I have been on Apixaban for several years, ever since it was approved in Australia by the TGA and I take it twice a day religiously because I have nursed many stroke patients and that is not for me. I always say that if I am on the list for a stroke, please make it a good one because I don't want to see the other side of it.
If you were to be prescribed dabigatran (Pradaxa), hospitals can use Praxbind to reverse bleeding. I'm on Pradaxa, and when we aren't in lock down, I clear scrub in a nature reserve with a bill hook, rip saw, professional hedge cutter and, a tool that looks like a billhook on an axe handle. Whilst I had to briefly stop taking Pradaxa, in 2020 I had three colonoscopies and a prostate biopsy.
As per usual I will declare an interest, as I've featured in a very short video for Pradaxa (for clinicians in the UK and USA) where I was filmed working in the nature reserve. I have haemangioma on my tongue, and I was told many years ago, that if I was in an accident I would bite my tongue and bleed to death. I'm still here despite coming off a scooter at 60+ mph and sliding up the road on my back.
Sorry my reply should have gone to golden heart.Pauline M
Hi sent my reply to Bob D by mistake. Hopefully you read it. Pauline M
Don’t disagree with your advice Bob . You are also correct to say it is an OLD saying that you can’t undo a stroke . Clot busting drugs administered within 4and a half hours can leave a person with no damage at all . However you still can’t undo a bleed . That said I would take a NOAC if I had had several episodes of AF and I mention the above in the interests of balance and accuracy .
Big IF though!
Not so much these days . Our local DGH is geared up, a friend has had two strokes reversed there and been left completely unimpaired . Neuro surgeons however are located in specialist units . So my district general hospital is 10 minutes away. If I had a bleed I would probably be taken there first and scanned to establish what kind of stroke it was, then blue lighted across to the neuro centre which is a good 40 minutes away . Am not making light of strokes of whatever kind am simply asking that the information is up to date and balanced
Hi peony,thankyou for your opinion. Is what you mention an option readily available for all who need it though? And especially in the current nhs crisis,with many hospitals at breaking point already,would this not be a huge risk?
I said, if I had had had several episodes of AF in a short period I would take a NOAC no question . In that situation for me the benefits would outweigh the risk with or without the Covid situation . You can’t seriously expect me to pronounce on the availability of services across the UK. But the treatment has been around for some time and I would expect it to be generally available just as I believe emergency services are continuing throughout the crisis . I wouldn’t base my decision on whether to take a NOAC on the availability or not of clot busters , prevention is better than cure and if you fit the criteria it is the safest course of action . I am just asking for balance and accuracy when the subject is discussed
Thankyou peony4575, Its essential to know all the options and different angles to this .
Bet you it is around the London hospitals!
in reply to Peony4575
In the interests of balance and accuracy, there is a reversal agent available for Dabigatran and reversal agents if not already, will soon be available for other DOAC’s
ema.europa.eu/en/news/first...
However, speed is of the essence when dealing with both a stroke and an internal bleed and although 4.5 hours may seem a long time, in reality from the time symptoms begin to show to receiving the medication can sadly take a lot longer. To put that into context, my neighbour who lives just over 6 miles from a General Hospital which has a stroke unit was unable to be treated within that time window. She is severely incapacitated as a result.
It would also be true to say that the same would apply to anyone experiencing an internal, spontaneous bleed. Therefore, the only thing anyone can do is make a comparison between their risk of stroke and risk of an internal spontaneous bleed.
We know that CHADS helps to determine the stroke risk and that HASBLED does the same for assessing the risk of a spontaneous internal bleed. We also know that neither method of assessing the risk is a precise science, it is essentially used as a guide.
I’m not medically trained, but we are regularly told by those who are, for the average person diagnosed with AF, regardless of frequency or treatment received, the risk of them having a stroke by far outweighs their risk of having a spontaneous internal bleed unless the patient or close family members have a history of bleeds. To some extent, the gradual reduction in the use of warfarin and the consequences of possible problems maintaining a stable INR have helped. Of course this does not take account of bleeds caused by trauma such a car accident or falling off a horse etc.
How AF patients interpret that risk is normally in conjunction with their medical but the final decision has to be the patients.
Personally, given the facts, I think most people understand why trialed and tested, as opposed to natural forms of anticoagulation, is so important.
Peony4575 in reply to
Yes I think most people do . It is certainly set out in detail often enough in the forum
As a matter of interest Praxbind the reversal agent appears to cost £2500 in Uk and $3500 in USA
I live in South Africa and take Xarelto. Last time I saw the cardiologist (I have symptomless PAF) I mentioned the reversal drugs. He said they are very expensive and not readily available, but if someone has a serious bleed they use some form of dialysis - I did not ask for details but felt reassured.
I am glad you felt reassured. My reservation is that dialysis would take hours to get the AC out of your system
Well without help to eliminate it, a 20mg tablet of Xarelto only remains in your system for 24hrs. hence the need to take it at the same time each day, so with the mechanical help, I'm sure it will be considerably speedier - personally , I have not heard of anyone I know suffering a bleed from Anti-coagulants, but I done know of numerous people who have had strokes for other reasons.
I live in Pennsylvania. I also take 20 mg Xarelto along with Diltiazem. My main complaint is fatigue. I am tired all the time! Does anyone else feel like this. My doctor ignores my comments.
I would do your own post, you are likely to get more help!
I recall an NHS paper about two years ago quoting the annual commercial cost of Pradaxa at around £650, but it didn't mention Praxbind. As a matter of interest, I recently had a 20mm flat polyp removed where the stomach joins the intestine, and the wound was clipped. I'd resumed Pradaxa when the wound opened and I passed a lot of blood. I was taken to A&E by ambulance (isolated room until COVID cleared) where the clinicians monitored me, and were content not to intervene or give me Praxbind. I deferred the next colonoscopy until March, as my AstraZeneca vaccination should give me some protection. I don't want a re-run of refusing to be sedated and put in the ICU on a respirator.
Sorry that happened to you but glad it turned out ok . Drugs that are used infrequently, like the antidote have higher acquisition cost so companies can recoup their development cost .
Yep & eliquis is $500 a month in the good old USA
I don’t know how you guys manage . We are so lucky to have the NHS
Health system is one big ripoff, quoted me $109,888 for a cardioversion!
Ouch ! I suppose that equates with our private system but at least everyone has access to healthcare regardless of their ability to pay . Let’s hope your new administration does something about it
A private ablation costs about £14000 on private medical insurance in the UK. I got my cardioversion for a lot less than £1000 using my private insurance. The prices in UK are similar to those, possibly slightly less if you are not using insurance but paying yourself to go privately. So US is considerably and mind bogglingly much more!!! I’m not sure how people manage their medical bills in the US and cost of medications for such conditions as diabetes.
I pay ¢50/month for elequis and that is expensive here in Ireland... was told by a friend it's not on prescription in UK because too expensive for the NHS...
Goldenheart in reply to
Flapjack, thankyou for that informative reply. I totally agree with the speed is essence.
Unfortunately, according to a 2019 paper published by the NHS, 77 percent of stroke patients present over 4.5 hours after a stroke and are too late for thrombolysis. I know to our family's bitter cost when my sister had a stroke in December 2017 and lay for 19 hours which was far too late for any meaningful treatment. She had undiagnosed AF and died 10 weeks later.
And in Scotland, thrombolysis wasn't routinely used apart from in Edinburgh, and astonishingly in 2018 was stopped altogether due to a lack of specialist staff and funding. There have been moves to address that but one wouldn't want to have an ischemic stroke there; a pilot scheme to reintroduce the treatment has just been started.
Glad to hear it . Very overdue. And I am very sorry about what happened to your sister . Where I live we have a great stroke unit who over the last few years have really geared up around clot busting
We live in London and as far as I know there are eight specialist units across the city; our exchange is really timely as it prompted me to check and the nearest to us is just over two miles away so the details are now in my iphone.
You don't happen to live on the south coast do you? Just out of interest as when we lived there patients used to be transferred to Hastings for specialist care.
No I live in the North West . I agree with you in case of emergency cardiac or stroke I have researched where I want to go
When I had a stroke, the ambulance crew didn't recognise it, so talked to me for an hour before blue lighting me when they realised it was a stroke. I had to be CT'd twice to ensure that haemangioma on my tongue were not present in my brain. I was thrombalised just shy of three hours after the stroke. I've permantly lost part of my peripheral vision, and hence my driving licence that had been clean for 50 years. I didn't know my way around our house and locality; that took a long time to remap. I think I was lucky with the stroke (and pulmonary toxicity with repiratory effects like COVID). Don't risk a stroke or think that the effects will be minimal.
Coronary artery disease diagnosis will mean an increase in your risk of stroke - added to the possible risk with AF. I think your cardiologist is being careful on your behalf until it is possible to determine the cause of your angina.
Anticoagulants aren't scary - in fact, most of us treat them as routine. Do consider your cardio's advice as a stroke would be my worst fear.
Hi finvola,thankyou for replying. Yes it looks like my cardio is being careful. And yes i agree about the stroke fear absolutely. But im very apprehensive of the bleed risk. And the devastating major bleeds it can cause. Have you experience of the new anti coagulants,where you dont need to be checked so regularly? Thankyou.
I understand anyone's concern about bleeding but I have taken Apixaban (one of the new ones) for over 7 years and have had no spontaneous bleeding. I had a few nosebleeds but they were not caused by the anticoagulant, a few cuts and two tooth extractions. The anticoagulant slows down the blood's clotting process, so a cut will bleed for slightly longer but nothing untoward.
My cardiologist liked Apixaban as, at the time it was prescribed to me, he said it had the lowest bleed factor. I get a blood test annually to check that my liver is OK and is excreting correctly - some doctors do twice annual tests. Read up on the new one (NOAC's or DOAC's) and write down some questions for you doc. Best wishes.
Finvola,thankyou,will do. Best wishes to you too.
I've been having extra anxiety in this time of covid which led me to stress again about having a bleed on the brain. I thought I had got over that when I was first diagnosed with AF September 2019 but it has returned. I have been reading all these replies which are making my head spin but I like the way Finvola puts it. I'm on Apixaban and bisoprolol. I know it's not a scientific approach, my method of reading these replies I mean, but it helps a lot. Thanks.
You will gather that people feel strongly about this subject & there is bias and good points on both sides of the argument but if you want information- I suggest you read the leaflet from this link, try understand the mechanics of the stroke risk, complete the questionnaire at the bottom of the leaflet - discuss with your doctor & ask which A/C they would prescribe & how often they would monitor you - normally blood tests every 3-6 months for none Vit-K antagonists.
healthunlocked.com/api/redi...
Then come back & ask any specific questions you may have.
PS - I’ve taken Apixaban continuously for about 5 years now, no known side affects & my GP monitors me every 12weeks, used to be monthly. No bleeds & I’ve had a pacemaker implanted & taken out again for the leads to be replaced & no bleeding problems. Also had other minor procedures with no problems - but that’s just my personal experience.
Cdreamer, thankyou.
Curious, What are you monitored for every 12 wks.? I am on apixaban also and get routine blood work ( liver, kidney function, CBC, electrolytes and glucose) every 6mos, must admit I am loathe to get blood drawn and will probably wait until vaccinated before my next phlebotomy, now overdo by several.months. Thanks, Stay safe...
I take Mycophenolate mofetil - which puts a heavy burden on bloods, liver and kidney anyway, add Apixaban and I need to be monitored regularly to make sure I can continue - I’m on maximum dose.
Before COVID it was monthly but because I have been stable, the docs said 12 weeks was OK.
What type of Pacemaker do you have and how long did it take to remover the leads and replace? Do you know if you have large veins? I ask these questions because I had my pacemaker replaced after 12 years, but they didn't replace the leads because my veins were too small?
RST pacemaker and the LV lead needed to be repositioned after 8 months. It’s was not a pleasant experience as it was on the limit of what is possible to remove, I was told it was only possible to replace the LV lead up to 6 months after implant. It took just over 3 hours to remove and replace everything. Getting the pacemaker out was the easy bit, although I had quite a bit of scar tissue to remove.
You really don’t want to have the leads removed after 12 years. I had to because the original was poorly positioned and led to pacing my diaphragm - they call it twitching but I can assure you it doesn’t feel in the least like a twitch! They had switched off the LV lead because of the twitching but that meant the pacemaker wasn’t working as well as it should for me.
Hi anticoagulants are used to prevent clots developing for many different problems, as you probably know a clot if it develops can cause serious damage and even death your cardiologist knows what he is doing the anticoagulant is going to be used as a preventative, however it is wise to keep a regular check on your inr if you are having warfarin but your cardiologist will advise
Hi bertson, what is inr please?
Hi again sorry INR is just the name of the test to measure the blood clotting time, and must be done regularly to ascertain the state of the blood while taking Warfarin,
Excellent advice from the others but the bottom line is it has to be based on an individual risk assessment. This is where your cardiologist should be able to assess and explain. The decision is then ultimately yours. In my case it was reccomended I went on an anticoagulant due to P-Afib -cause unknown but sucessful cancer treatment is likely to have caused it. My GP put me on Riveroxaban as per cardiologists advice. I had a lot of internal bleeding....none of it life threatening but scary. This during the pandemic. It was very thoroughly and promptly investigated. I am still not taking a blood thinner nearly a year on, awaiting an op (given the huge long list doubt that will occur for many, many months & frankly as I havent been vaccinated yet currently not keen). My risk of a stroke is at the very lowest end of the risk scale. So its a balancing act and not always straightforward.
When your cardiologist rings you, you need to talk through the pros and cons and find out what your rating is of the risk.
As an aside its also worth checking your b12 level and gluten sensitivity. For me addressing both of those has settled my heart down loads......both low b12 and gluten can affect the heart and are simple to address. Something most medics would not look at.
Hi,
I went through the same concerns you are going through. I had a mild stroke at 58 which they couldn't determine the cause of even after 22 different tests. I was a vegan, did lots of cardio and my BMI was at 23. They found no heart disease with an ultra sound and an MRI. A year later I had a 2nd event and was diagnosed with AFib. I didn't follow my Dr's advice to go on warfarin as I had had only 2 events in 2 years. I thought I could manage it with life style modifications and trigger avoidance. 6 months later I had another aFib event during a scuba trip to Cozumel. I went to the emergency clinic and was put on Bisoprolol and Warfarin. I mogul ski, mountain bike, and roller blade so like you I had serious concerns about bleeding.
I did a lot of research and realized how lucky I was not to have had a permantly disabling or even fatal stroke. It only takes a few minutes in AFib to potentially develop a life threatening clot which can attach to the inside of your heart and break away at any future time.
From experience with my mother I found out that they won't give you a clot buster if you don't know exactly when you had the stroke as it is a dangerous procedure. If you wake up paralyzed, or can't communicate when you had the stroke they won't give the clot buster to you. And of course if you are dead it won't help much.
I continue to take Wafarin and now have a coagulant self tester at home so I always make sure my clot factor is on the low side of safe before I head out to do something that may result in a fall. I have had a couple of good ones and really being on wafarin didn't make that much difference. That includes a roller blade fall where I separated my shoulder. You can bruise easier but I don't know how much of that is due to Wafarin and how much is due to being 65. I even asked my Dr. about switching to the newer anticoagulants and he advised me to stay on wafarin with self testing because you can stay protected from a stroke but keep your chances of bleeding relativley low. I went on Flecainide after another afib event 3 months later because my AFib was progressing which it does. I haven't had an aFib event for several years. Unfortunatly aFib is a life time diagnosis and the potential resulting strokes are very serious so I will always be on Wafarin as long as I can get out and do the things I love to do. I hope my story helps.
O I Had the same situation two years ago few isolated irregular heartbeats that on an ECG recorded an arrythmia. I saw the cardiologist who did a Doppler test on me said what are you doing here there's nothing wrong with you nevertheless he went along with anti coagulants based on my age over 75 and female but no heart or valve disease. I then said if that was recommended to prescribe one of the new anticoagulants which were not vitamin k antagonist. Haematology had put me on warfarin which made me breathless and my healthy Mediterranean diet was not recommended ( too much vit k ). He prescribed apixaban. It's been ok but the irregular heartbeats have increased both in length and episodes. So jury out on whether that would have happened anyhow or whether anticoagulants are the cause. To this day I have no diabetes and no high blood pressure. Hope this helps but be interesting to hear his comments if you mentioned my experience on taking anticoagulants to him. Take care and good luck ! Xx
I agree with bob.If the consultant says take them , you’ve nothing to loose , you can always stop them after you get your test results done , meantime u are protected from stroke.....
I’d just like to say I’ve been in them three years and I don’t bruise, if the cat scratches me and I bleed I don’t find it any different to not being on the tablets . I see them as another box being ticked in the great wealth of things that can go wrong as we age, so I see them ticking the stroke risk box.
Sue
Really interesting discussion- I have a fib had 1 ablation and af episodes about every couple of months - am on rivaroxiban but am concerned about the bleed risk as my father died at age 50 of a cranial bleed - is there an anticoagulant that has a lower bleed risk than rivaroxiban?
Just a thought Goldenheart, has your cardiologist seen the AliveKor readings that suggest Afib? I know that the readings have a good accuracy record, but they do recommend verification from a cardiologist. Taking Anticoagulants is not a decision to be taken lightly by you or a cardiologist, so I think you're right to question. In these difficult times, going to hospital for anything can range from a risk to near on impossible, except in an emergency situation, and even then I'm not sure how the odds stack up. You're right to try to garner as much information as you can to help you make an informed decision. Good luck.
Hi Spangle, yes i emailed my cardio the a fib recordings recently,hes very good,arranging a phone appt pretty quick..my other cardio a diferent story,he received my a fib recordings over a year ago and didnt act upon them. Like many of us,im sure,i was just waiting for my next appt patiently. From what ive read on here,a fib should be addressed promptly.
Very interesting comments here. Just to add to the mix, 3 days before Christmas 2019 I had a stroke, didn't realise what it was but felt awful and rang 111, long story short I was thrombolised and all the time they kept asking me what time it started. I've had no after effects however the cause was undiagnosed aFib., and immediately put on Edoxaban. I've had no issues whatever from it, had two molar extractions with no problems. Must admit I was shocked to read of the cost of the procedure but there was no hesitation in making sure I got the appropriate treatment in time. Thank goodness for the NHS.
I was diagnosed with paroxysmal AF in 2011, I think, but no treatment was suggested as far as I can remember but it might have been and I refused it. The PAF gradually got worse and a beta blocker and anticoagulant were recommended but I am not keen on taking meds, preferring a more holistic approach. However, I was put on Bisoprolol after an emergency admission to hospital but I still didn’t want to take the anticoagulant, partly because I was scared of bleeding and bruising more easily and I thought I already bruised very easily. I was having regular acupuncture at the time and the acupuncturist said I bled more than most people when she took out the needles. However, I was hospitalised whilst on holiday in Madeira two years’ ago and put on Rivaroxaban, amongst other meds, and I have to say that, as far as I can tell, it has not caused any problems. In fact I did a Covid antibody test recently in connection with a research project I am a participant in, which is a finger prick test so I was a bit apprehensive about it, but the joke was that I could hardly get any blood out so the test might be invalid! I am female and older than you, 74, so my CHAD-score will be higher. I have had my first jab and that didn’t bleed either. I am now also in heart failure and have a CRT pacemaker and there were no problems due to excessive bleeding during the op to implant it.
I'm 75 and my GP tried to put me on anticoagulants about 6 years ago because I think they like to tick boxes. I have paroxysmal a-fib which has put me in hospital 4 times since my first diagnosis in 2008. For me it mainly relates to gut health and anxiety. Since I have been taking regular probiotics and keeping my anxiety levels down I have not had an attack in 3 months. When I was hospitalised in Tenerife the consultant there put me on anticoagulants for 30 days only, due to the fact that I only occasionally suffer from a-fib so I am still not on anticoagulants. I think therefore it depends how you feel about being on permanent medication. I try and manage my condition in the first instance because I would otherwise worry about dying from a brain bleed from using anticoagulants. So I think the answer is what do you feel most comfortable with taking into account your condition and general health. I try to keep healthy and exercise regularly and if I do have an attack I take bisopropol and flecanaide which usually settles my heart back into sinus rhythm in a few hours. I'm still going strong. I hope this helps.
Hi - I am female, 64 and last year my consultant put me on anticoagulants (Edoxaban). 6 years ago I was diagnosed with AF and had a cryo ablation. I took no medication post op for AF. I had the odd flutter here and there until 2019 and again in 2020, when I had 2 scary episodes of AF and SVT, both involving trips to A and E.
My cardiologist thought the first episode was a one off, but following the second, he says I have 'an excitable heart' and prescribed Bisoprolol and Edoxaban, despite not quite reaching the CHAD score. I was NOT happy about taking the anticoagulant, for all the reasons that you mention.
At a follow up appointment in November 2020, I voiced all my concerns about anticoagulants. His reply was that in the early days of NOAC's, he could understand concern and worry about bleeding. However, he was reassuring that as time has gone on, although there is still not a reversal agent, various strategies have been perfected to assist with severe bleeds in NOAC anti coagulated patients. He also said that he has no doubt that the situation will improve still further as time and research progress. In his opinion, the dangers of stroke were far greater than dangerous bleeds. He also reminded me of the relative speed with which NOAC's exit the system (72 hours without Edoxaban and you are considered OK for major surgery).
The odd cut and jab that I have had, have hardly bled, but then I have never been 'a bleeder' and used to be a regular platelet donor. I clot very quickly. Bruising is a bit more noticeable.
As an aside, I read a post on this forum about haemostatic dressings and am considering buying a couple to keep in the glove box of the car, in case of RTA.
To be honest, I am still not happy with taking these drugs - however, my concern about an accident causing an uncontrollable bleed is far less than the constant worry about an unknown clot from a few seconds of AF, causing a stroke.
Ultimately it will be your decision but hope my experience is helpful.
Hi, personally I would think taking a anticoagulant would be a good thing until you can get a face to face appointment and more investigation done for your poss angina etc.👍 I took them for 2 years whilst having afib. The only reason I’m not on them now is because my afib is managed better and my Chad score is nil. But I’d go back on them tomorrow if needed. 👍
Hi there, I am in the UK and diagnosed with lone atrial fibrillation and flutter. I have no underlying heart disease (confirmed by tests). I am 63 and I believe I am in general good health. I am under an EP who I am seeing again tomorrow. I am on anticoagulant Apixaban even though my CHADS score is only 1 (for being female). Feel safer knowing my stroke risk is reduced.
Can I ask whereabouts in the Uk
Any body who has a stroke on or not on Anticoags might want to consider Acupuncture after the event; this was mentioned to me by a leading London Naturopath.
Dear Goldenheart, I had heart flutter some 7 years ago and had about 4 years on Bisoprolol, with aspirin in the old days being acceptable. I did not fancy warfarin in that you had to be tested regularly. A friend recommended I changed the aspirin for Rivaroxaban as she found it excellent with no side effects for her and aspirin by this time was not approved of so much. Unfortunately I developed drug induced Lichen Planus. June Butlin near Bristol gave me a personal diet to suit my body and I was able to give up my drugs ater 4 months hoping the Lichen Planus would go. Sadly it did not.
I replaced the blood thinning given by the Rivaroxaban anti coagulation with all the natural herbs etc recommended - Vitamin E - cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, celery etc etc and kept myself healthy. However, My Doctor was VERY keen for me to take the Rivaroxaban, and since I have very poor circulation - particularly in cold weather, she had her way. I googled it before I took it again and no bad side effects were referred to and I now feel I am benefitting from it. Good luck and I hope you will benefit as well
I had a successful cardioversion in June 2019. I've only just had follow up phone consultation with cardiologist and I asked whether I needed to continue taking Apixaban. She told me yes for the rest of my life because I scored 2 for having a stroke being female and 74. My score probably higher still as father had a major stroke. So that's it keep taking little pink pills. I was treated for atrial flutter. Not on any other medication now.
You seem to have a good cardiologist or EP in your corner. I was diagnosed with AF at 44 otherwise healthy heart and because of my age no anti- coagulants.And I have consistently told them about my chest pains, I use a nitro spray that alleviates them, but because the tests they did do show healthy arteries - they won't even consider micro vascular. It's not uncommon in women and goes undetected, because the majority of tests don't examine that aspect.
Anyway my point is I was told under 65, ergo young, healthy heart means no anti-coagulants.
I've read a lot of articles about this in itself being a risk factor - the VAD score determining use of anticoagulation.
It sounds as if your cardiologist is on the ball though.
After a history of AF the first thing my Cardiologist did was prescribe Rivoraxaban. That was 2014. No side effects apart from some bruising now and again . And a plaster is needed on the odd occasion if you prune the Pyracantha- if you get my gist. At present I no longer have AF after an ablation in 2018 but my medical team advise me to keep taking it. No big deal. I continue to take it very morning.
I was advised by cardiology at Stoke hospital after my heart rate went all over the place during a jaw cyst operation that I should take a small dose of Warfarin each day to stop my blood clotting. Take 2mg one day and 1mg the next day. I have been on Warfarin for over 10 years now without any problems.
To be on the safe side I would most definitely get on the them!
I wouldn't hesitate in your case. If anti-coagulants are being considered by your cardiologist then there's a good reason for that. I was on aspirin for years and when the new anti-coagulants came in I was put on rivaroxaban. There are risks attached. I won't be joining a knife throwing act any time soon but I would far rather take 1 tablet daily than have a stroke. Have a good chat with your doc, tell him how you feel and ask all the questions you need to get a full picture of what his decision may mean for you. Good luck.
I started on Warfarin in 1992 and only just moved to Apixaban in the recent years. I had odd times were my bloods were all over the place but I would not disagree with the cardiologist. As many have said on here better than a stroke!
Hi, About 15 years ago I was put on Warfarin for AF had an ablation and stopped the warfarin. A few years ago After having regular episodes of AF, like you even though the doc said I should I felt I didn’t needed Anticoagulants, but then just over a year ago after having an episode of AF I ended up in A and E with a mini stroke.it rather frightened me so immediately went on Rivaroxaban. I now feel a lot More secure when I have an episode of AF So go for it.
Croesio, hi. Thankyou for replying and advice. Best wishes.
Follow only your dr and his instructions!!!! I had an afib attack last summer and was hospitalised. Put on a raft of meds, including rivaroxaban, as I was low risk but having cardioversion 6 weeks later. I already had a vitreous bleed in my eye which, as you can imagine, worsened on the anti coagulant, to the point where I lost all visiin in that eye. Luckily, having had cardioversion, and completing 4 more weeks of rivaroxaban, my cardiologist took me off them. I had an operation to drain the blood and was told I would not need to return to them, thank goodness. I was obviously in need of a sight-saving operation which could not have been done whilst on blood thinners. But I'm glad to be free of them as they made me quite unwell, as well as causing my eye to bleed. But that was a condition I already had anyway. So your cardiologist is the person to decide, based on your own condition.
Not what you're looking for?
You may also like...
Do You Have Dark Urine Caused by Anti-coagulants or Blood Thinners?
pacemaker put in, June 2018. I have occasional AFib episodes, but hardly ever feel them. About 4...
Ibuprofen & anti-coagulation
read that this is contra-indicated with anti-coagulants, but now I can't find the reference. Can...
anti coagulant side effects
'wonderful no side effects of anti coagulants' comments when my experience has been simply...
Anti coagulation worries
Anti coagulants
Anti coagulant? 
