Heart arrhythmia: Do you take blood thinners?

Hi, @tinkercat. I'm 10 years older than you and dealing with similar circulation problems. We may have very different types of A-fib though. Mine is now almost asymptomatic -- no feelings of irregular heartbeats, no breathing difficulties -- although I suffered a "small stroke" 7 years ago that put me on an anti-coagulant -- in my case, Warfarin (Coumadin). That drug brings with it periodic lab tests to make sure its anti-coagulation effects stay within a range that prevents extreme symptoms (bleeding or blood clots). In short, I have no fear that the drug is risky for me to take. As to my hypertension, my special recipe involves several specialized medications -- Carvedilol (a beta blocker to tune down A-fib heartbeats), Amiloride (diuretic that is potassium-sparing), and Eplerenone (diuretic that also addresses my overactive adrenal glands). It has taken a series of medical teams several years to derive my special anti-hypertension recipe, and that emphasizes the importance of bringing a group of cooperating physicians together in search of a stable, reliable treatment plan. My team includes a nephrologist, a cardiologist, and an endocrinologist in addition to my Primary Care Physician and -- at one crucial time -- a genetic consultant on some variations I inherited. I hope you can find a way to have that kind of a medical team to remove your concerns about the risks you feel. Martin

I declined blood thinners for years because my afib was only once a year or so (actually I have gone two years now). My cardiologist was not happy but didn't dismiss me. His advice was on record so I assume no liability for him. Another cardiologist, braver than the first, told me at the hospital to "go home and forget this happened."

If your arrhythmia has risks and occur frequently, will you consider blood thinners? It does pose some liability for doctors if you need them and don't take them but you might be able to find a holistic cardiologist. Nattokinase and other approaches are used by some (but nattokinase also thins the blood).

Thank you, Martin, for your response. This afib thing is all very new to me and disconcerting and confusing. It sounds like it took you a while to get things just right for you. I probably just need to work with my new cardiologist and give it some time. Fortunately my heart is in fairly good shape, just some expected age-related wear and tear but nothing serious. Right now I'm on metoprolol to calm down the heartbeat and lisinopril (only 5 mg.) for the blood pressure. I monitor my blood pressure every day and so far this combo is working well and I'm feeling good. I think going on a heart healthy diet and exercising regularly are helping a lot too. Thank you again for all the information.

I just take a baby aspirin in the mornings and 2 regular aspirin in the evening.

@carol1024 I was told that aspirin was no longer recommended as effective and that the risk of bleeding (GI) outweighed any possible benefit. Two regular aspirin at night seems like a lot! Did your MD tell you to do that? In 2015 after a bad episode of afib I was told to take one regular aspirin for a month. Docs no longer tell me to do that. Hope you feel better!

2 aspirin is regular normal dose. The baby aspirin I take in the morning is low dose. I'm doing this for a bit to see if it helps with internal vibrations. The blood may be thick so I'm thinning it out some to see if it helps. I'm on metoprolol so that slows my heartbeat down. Even after I do some form of activity my heart rate increases only for about 30 seconds then back to slow. It's been as low as 56 while lying in bed. It usually is around 60-65 resting. My doctor knows I take it and has said nothing negative about it.

My heart rate is always mid to low 50's while in bed. My cousin's goes down to the 30's! I have read that a heart rate in the 50's while resting is normal. Has your doctor expressed concern? I would trust your doc but mine are concerned about GI bleeds with a lot of aspirin.

I just take a baby aspirin in the mornings and 2 regular aspirin in the evening.

The aspirin I take in the evening is coated. I also take omeprezole because of ulcers found years ago so that stops me from getting 100% of the meds I take. Even though I take the omeprezole around 2 hours after taking my other meds, it does block some absorption. I tried to go off the omeprezole once but after eating tacos I had heart burn so bad I was miserable.