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What downside have you experienced after an ablation?
Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: 1 day ago | Replies (35)Comment receiving replies
So given the success of the last ablation, did your physician give you any indication of how long you would need to continue with the Eliquis?
My last (third) ablation seems to have worked as I’ve had no symptoms since. Like you, I was always pretty sure of when I was in AFIB. And I take my BP daily with a device that shows if there is an irregular rhythm. I got no feedback about discontinuing the Eliquis. I don’t have any problems with that drug except that it is pretty expensive.
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Great question, and most reasonable. I appreciate that you're actively reading and thinking analytically about what I post.
I was told by my cardiologist that I would be placed on Eliquis for life. I don't recall him explaining the rationale, just that I was now going to have to rely on its efficacy until I die. I have since learned that the cardiology milieu, across the globe, have adopted an assessment model known as CHA2D2S-VASc. Like everything else in medicine and in natural philosophy (AKA 'the sciences'), they modify their models and introduce new ones constantly in an effort to improve the 'predictive validity' of their theories and models. CHA2DS2-VASc has undergone some revisions, and the one I site just here is the latest. The model imparts a score based on several risk factors, after which a total score is derived. Scores above 1.5, generally, are advised to go on a DOAC (Direct Oral Anti-Coagulant, sometimes referred to as NOAC, with N standing for 'novel', because these drugs are all relatively new, and newer ones supersede them or are introduced regularly). I had a score of 1.5, some would argue that it was a solid 2 while I was in AF (atrial fibrillation). So, I was told to accept that, if I wanted to live relatively risk-free from thrombolytic events, I should take Eliquis for life. I believe my score is now under 1.5, and could unilaterally stop taking a DOAC of my own volition and probably, not certainly, not suffer undue risk as a result of a foolish choice. My cardiologist might beg to differ. I haven't asked. I still take the Eliquis.
https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/801/cha2ds2-vasc-score-atrial-fibrillation-stroke-risk
I am on a medical plan up here in Canada, so I normally only pay an annual deduction on my insurance, and then the dispensing fee for each purchase/renewal. I have seen people say that they get their various drugs from online pharmacies in Canada, and that the prices are substantially better. I don't know the details, since they don't particularly interest me, but I hope someone has seen this thread and knows of the details.