← Return to Premature atrial contractions: Anyone have any helpful info on this?

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@predictable

Hi @yorlik. Good to see you again. Your report touched on some experiences I have had with A-fib and "blood thinners." First, INR is "international normalized ratio" which is calculated by a test laboratory, showing the ratio between the PT (prothrombin time, how long it takes for blood to clot for a specified laboratory reagent used to conduct the test) and an ideal clotting time for the particular case. The INR typically ranges between 2.0 and 3.0. Mine jumps closely around 2.5. Second, a couple of years ago, my INR jumped up to 5.6 (taking "forever" to clot) so my medical team had me skip Coumadin a couple of days to bring it back down to 2.5. By the time it settled around that number, I developed clots in my heart, one of which lodged in my brain causing a "small stroke." So I'm really careful about taking the right amount of Coumadin every day and checking my INR on schedule. Third, my regimen is underpinned by the tragic death of a neighbor and friend who fell in his garage and suffered a head injury. He was on Coumadin, so I knew he needed immediate medical diagnosis in the new hospital just a mile away. EMT took him there, but within an hour he was loaded on a helicopter that carried him to the large regional hospital 20 miles away. He died of a cranial hemorrhage within the hour. Turned out that the new hospital didn't have a common Vitamin K antidote on hand to neutralize the Coumadin and help his blood to clot. Now, my first question to a medical care service is whether they have a Coumadin antidote on hand for immediate use. No Vitamin K, no treatment affecting my circulatory system. Martin

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Replies to "Hi @yorlik. Good to see you again. Your report touched on some experiences I have had..."

Wow, thanks for the info. 'Sorry to hear about your neighbor friend! Tragic!

So you infer YOU can test your own INR on demand? What device or method is used? I would be very interested to test mine!