I don't take any blood thinners at all.

Starting in 2015 I have had afib with very rapid heart rate, once a year, or even had a two year interval. This past year I had one episode in late August 2023, two in early October, and I just had one two nights ago, 4/16, with heart rate peaking around 200.

I am meeting with a new cardiologist at a teaching hospital and am going to ask about the "pill in a pocket" approach meaning short term anticoagulation. Some say a month, some say less time. And there is a lot of difference of opinion on how long it takes to form a clot.

When one of my episodes lasted 7 hours (usually they are 45 minutes to 2 1/2 hours) the hospital did an echocardiogram to check for clots.

A cardiologist pressured me to take a blood thinner back in 2015 and I declined. He later told he he agreed (much later) and that they were "probably" overmedicating people. Then again, my mother had continuous afib and had a stroke when off Coumadin for 5 days.

How often do you have afib?