Special thanks @yoanne for the reference to the Heart Association's guidelines on A-fib diagnosis and treatment and the Internet link to bring them up to read. On that page is another link that takes us to an online tool for calculating your risk of a stroke from A-fib and the need for anticoagulation therapy. Here's that link to that page: http://www.heartinteractives.org/afib5/activities/MAE-CHA2DS2VASc/Interactive2-MAE.html. As @yoanne advises, print those two pages and take them with you to discuss them with your cardiologist(s).

The tool recommends that I take a "blood thinner," although my risk of a stroke is based only on my age (over 65) and my hypertension. I need an anticoagulant even though I am not experiencing congestive heart failure, diabetes, prior stroke, or vascular disease and am not a woman.

I take a medium dose of Coumadin daily and stop by the lab for 15 minutes once a month. Staying in tune with the coagulation index is no problem for me or for my 83-year-old friend, who has been on Coumadin for 10 years and tracks his index at home with a special device. I also take a beta blocker (Carvedilol), mainly for my hypertension, but also as a prophylactic for my A-fib. My medication regimen is a joint therapy of my cardiologist (who knows the heart) and my nephrologist (an expert on hypertension).

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