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Half dose of eliquis?
I am 69 yrs old with low heart disease risk and have had diagnosed afib for three years. It is not persistent and varies in frequency. I believe I was suffering with it for 2-3 years prior but did not address it until I got the classic symptoms of fatigue, dizziness, out of breath, and vision problems. My doc ran numerous tests on my heart that revealed I have no structural changes and no heart disease. I was put on metroprolol 25 mg and eliquis 10 mg daily. My normal BP is 103/60 so the beta blocker dropped it too low. Now I take 12.5 mg. I also cut my eliquis down to 5 mg due to side effects. My cardiologist put me on propafenone as a pill in the pocket to get back in rhythm when I have an event. This works well in that the beta blocker prevents the accelerated heart rate during an attack and the propafenone gets me back in rhythm in 2-3 hours. My concern is cutting the eliquis dose in half. There is evidence in the literature that the half dose is as effective as the full dose in preventing afib strokes. Does anyone have an opinion on this? Thanks.
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Been to 3 different cardiologists 2 say no afib attached heart monitor looked at dr said in opinion beta blocker enough for hypertension first ekg taken in intensive care 4 different iv.s 8 pills daily post surgery herniated umbilical removed some intestine then bleeding ulcer repair in middle of this ekg taken showed afib 1250 cc s water daily no food read somewhere maybe jama report ekg not accurate during those procedures being done
HI lucyjake, That is exactly what I do--take half-dose daily (ie., one 5 mg Eliquis instead of two), and take an extra Eliquis if I am in an AF episode--also because on full dose (2 pills), I was bleeding too much (nose, cuts, etc.) and I have an inflammatory bowel disease history w/ a lot of bleeding in past. I have paroxysmal AF with digestion/vagus nerve-related triggers. One cardiologist suggested I cut the 5 mg Eliquis in half and take 2.5 mg morning and 2.5 at night, as it doesn't stay in the bloodstream very long, but since almost all of my episodes are at night, I take a 5 mg Eliquis each night. Like you, I have low BP, no structural heart defects, and I take various supplements that tend to have some of the same effect as Eliquis. There is evidence that "blood thinners" taken 24/7 have other negative effects on our bodies, which you never hear from cardiologists. Many things affect one's actual numerical stroke risk, and the oft-quoted "5 times higher risk w/ AF" is misleading and inaccurate. All best wishes!
I had a pulmonary embolism in 2017 . Doctors put me on Eliquis 5mg twice a day for the rest of my life . It just me but I don’t think I would be changing doses of a prescription .Eliquis takes about three day to threshold and three day to exit you system . Why would you cut back and take when you have an afib episode . I would at least tell your cardiologist Best
I had paroxysmal Afib (with symptoms) for about 10 months and was on Eliquis. Had the PF Ablation. No Afib for 80 days now. Doctor says I need to stay on Eliquis (5mg/2xd) forever due to my age and being female. I have good BP and HR everyday. Mechanics of my heart are good. I am on no other meds. Sure would like to reduce or eliminate Eliquis. Has anyone else done this with success?
I also had PF ablation and am taking a blood thinner (Xarelto) similar to Eliquis. My EP said that if I am Afib free for 6 months post ablation, I should be able to discontinue the blood thinner. While this came as good news, when I mentioned this to my regular cardiologist, he was of the opinion that I would need to stay on a blood thinner indefinitely. I'm hoping I can get by with low dose aspirin. We shall see...
Remember Eliquis is to prevent stroke. and PE ‘s It an anticoagulant or blood thinner . It doesn’t prevent afib episodes. I had a PE in my right lung lower lobe It was missed on my first visit to the ER Could have killed me . Eliquis 5mg twice a day for the rest of my days Best
I have had this same experience. My PC said to stop taking Eliquis after a successful ablation but the cardiologist says I'll be on it forever. I just read some information about Eliquis that was not positive so I'm going to research it some more. But I'm also learning about a supplement derived from soybeans that is a natural blood thinner. Its called Nattokinase. Check it out!