On my first episode with A-fib, my cardiologist put me on Eliquis immediately. My brother has had A-fib episodes over the past few years, with cardioversions in the ER and he has never been on Eliquis. He takes baby ASA and his cardiologist has never suggested that he do anything else. I don't have any problems with Eliquis except that 1) I can get a bruise by opening a tight mayonnaise jar 2) I wonder what monitors there should be for deciding if your blood is "thin" or "too thin." (like why don't they have a level to measure routinely?) Lastly, Eliquis is a huge money maker for big pharma; once people get on this, it seems most of them just stay on it forever; is it necessity or fear? My insurance pays for my prescription but many folks pay big bucks for this medication. I know that it is supposed to reduce stroke risk, but when I do the stroke risk scale, I find that age and gender and treatment for B/P seem to weigh heavily in getting a higher score! If someone has a stroke that is a "bleed" and not a clot, is that somehow not a risk factor for the medication? I don't know what to tell you; I have the same questions that you do. I want my cardiologist to decrease the dose to 2.5 twice daily. I have very infrequent episodes as you mention and I don't know if the bigger dose is actually necessary.

If you are using an Apple Watch to track your AFib, the lowest percentage on the watch is 2%, even if you are having no AFib at all. The only way to tell if you are having AFib is to wear a Holter heart monitor which is a continuous recording.

Metropolol slows down your heart rate and I was prescribed it to use as a pill in the pocket for if my heart raced and wouldn't slow down. It also made me tired. I am not a doctor, but if your heart rate is OK, there is no reason to take beta or calcium channel blockers.