Connect
← Return to Blood Thinners–how soon do they act, how long to stay on them?
Discussion
Blood Thinners–how soon do they act, how long to stay on them?
Heart & Blood Health | Last Active: May 13 3:15pm | Replies (15)Comment receiving replies
Thanks for your reply rubyw. Sorry to hear your afib is so often! My Dr also has discussed ablation if attacks continue.
You say "I strongly urge you to take your questions and concerns to your cardiologist…..the ONLY person who can give you the answers you are obviously desperately searching for." I respectfully disagree... Of course we need to have these type discussions with our cardiologist (and I have), but we also can research it on our own. Unfortunately most Dr.s after 20-30 years of doing the same rote thing over and over get in a rut like anyone else. They have their developed opinions based on facts but a lot of this is still opinions by a single Dr then. For instance, if you ask 10 cardiologists how long Xarelto takes to get to max strength in your blood after initial dose, I bet 9 will not know - they just don't NEED to know such details. They KNOW from experience and training that taking the blood thinner reduces the chances of a clot forming from our Afib and that is enough. Nothing against them, but they too are human.
As an engineer, I like to research things myself, understand how they work. Especially when it affects me and no one else seems to have the data. I now learned Xarelto takes only 2 hours to become very effective. For instance, how long does it take for a dangerous blood clot to form during Afib? Seems to me there should be a typical known (from imperical tests) time: IF that time is > 2 hours, then my taking Xarelto 24/7 is a waste and doing more harm than good to my body since I can tell when I go into Afib once every month or so (so far).
This is why I am still searching for the answer to that open question. If the answer is a blood clot can form in first 3 minutes of Afib attack, then so be it - gotta take Zarelto 24/7 to cover that one bout next month or the month after. If it takes 3 hours, I will discuss it with my cardiologist and determine if he can agree with my assessment to stop taking it until needed. Obviously this is not an option for anyone who cannot tell right away when they go into Afib.
Replies to "Thanks for your reply rubyw. Sorry to hear your afib is so often! My Dr also..."
Connect
I do a lot of my own research, too, which is why, when I see my cardiologist, I have 10 pages of questions! I wish I had time right now to go over all the good points you made in your post. The one thing I'm sure you've seen in your research is that millions of people have AFIB and don't know it. They have what, apparently, is called "silent" AFIB. They feel no symptoms at all. Their AFIB is discovered most often during their annual physical when they have an EKG. Those people have been at risk of having a stroke. And if I'm understanding you correctly, you seem to believe that you must be in actually AFIB before a stroke can happen and I am going to politely disagree with you on that. I have no proof to back that belief up and will definitely do some research on that. The fact remains that you DO have AFIB even though your episodes are infrequent. If I was lucky enough to only experience episodes as infrequently as you do, I personally would still want the protection of an anticoagulant 24/7. My reasoning for that is better safe than sorry. There IS a great deal they don't know about AFIB, but there is a lot they DO know. Until they have all the answers, I think those of us with AFIB need to do everything we can to protect ourselves. I hope you find the answers you need.