Jim's Posts

According to my information: * Flecainide is good if you have AFib but it's not good if you had heart failure * Amiodarone also helps with AFib and can be taken when you had heart failure. But it's toxic and shouldn't be taken over a long time (more than 6-12 months). It's a bridge to transition to other meds. * If they do cardioversion, they might load you up with Amiodarone and then reduce it. * Eliquis help "thinning" your blood (reducing clotting risk).

I would try to get off amiodarone. It's not a medicine you want to take over a long time, even if you are a bit older. I forgot the name but there is another medicine that supposedly helps with AFib. Might be flecainide or propafenone. You can't take it if your EF is low (yours is good), if you had heart failure, etc. So it's a bit restrictive but worth looking into. If those other medicines can't manage your afib, you probably should talk to an electrophysiologist. You should also ask if you if blood thinner makes sense for you. With AFib, you are more likely to have blood clots and blood thinners will reduce that risk. It has the disadvantage that you bleed longer if something happens but it's something that is mostly manageable.

AFib might be present after surgery. You need to observe it after about 3 months. After 2-3 months they will probably put a heart monitor on which you have to wear for a couple of weeks. 4 weeks out is probably too early to tell if it helped or not as your heart still needs to heal. So give it a bit more time. In any case, this is a bit a complex topic and I am not sure I get everything right despite having researched it quite a bit. In short, ablation can help with AFib. Success rates are ok but there is still a good chance you might still have AFib afterwards. Ablation helps a lot more when it comes to atrial flutter and extra heartbeats. Don't trust your Samsung Galaxy watch, your Apple watch and not even Kardia 6L, especially if you have extra beats. Those devices constantly claim you have AFib when you don't. Discuss with your cardiologist. He might ask you to wear a heart monitor every 6-12 months. If you really still have AFib, the cardiologist probably will put you on blood thinner and maybe have your left atrial appendage (LAA) closed if they didn't already do that during surgery. The reason for that is that blood clots (stroke risk) often build in the LAA. By closing the LAA, blood clots can't develop there. And the blood thinner further helps prevent clotting.

The surgeon clipped off the LAA in surgery. I am on blood thinners to reduce the risk of a stroke. The Kardia mobile detected Sinus Rhythm with Wide QRS. But I have not trusted the Kardia. At my last visit to the cardiologist, she said I was in Sinus Rhythm. I need to get off the amiodarone.

Yes, get off amiodarone. I guess the Kardia wasn't wrong as it said you are in sinus rhythm but with wide QRS. The thing is, you can use the Kardia multiple times a day and get some statistics. When you go to the cardiologist, they do a 30s scan every visit which is maybe every 3 months at best, probably 6 months or maybe even 1 year. It might help wearing a heart monitor over some 2 weeks. Blood thinner can be a bit annoying as you bruise up more and bleeding takes longer to stop. But it is easy to handle.

I take 200 mg of amiodarone daily, a light dose. It seems to keep the irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia/AFIB) under control and no side effects. It works better than the flecanaide. The normal EKG shows Sinus Rhythm Bradycardia with a 1st degree AV block. Kardia Mobile normally shows it as Sinus Rhythm with Wide QRS. This is not a serious condition, and many people have this pattern and do not know it. When AFIB hits, I do know it as I get short winded, and generally do not feel normal. Rose, you do not get AFIB any more? No, grapefruit is a non started while on this med. Per the literature.