Afib/dangers of eliquis

I took E for recommended time in 2024 to attack clot forming in lower left leg. Generally, I didn’t like taking it, can’t pinpoint side-effect. But it totally pulverized and disintegrated the clot. All gone. Good luck. And felt no post-med side effects

Thanks for taking the time to respond, appreciate your help.

Your story similar to mine. 73 years old, former runner and active person. Diagnosed a 18 months ago with “mild AFIB”. My first trip to Cardiologist triggered by PVCs discovered/happening during a half sleep leg vein procedure. Then came an Arteriorgram, CAC and 30 day Holter monitor. The result was 40% blockage and in D! Vein off the LAD artery at connection point and no stint till reaches 70% blockage. Of course over time I had every test insurance will allow since and placed on CPAP as well. Cardiologist put me on Apixiban blood thinner right away. From the beginning I started lifestyle changes, diet, exercise, no alcohol, no caffeine and mindfulness for anxiety. A recent Holter monitor indicated AFIB is less than 4% so they discontinued blood thinner. Said keep up the lifestyle changes and come back in 6 months.

Thanks for the response, still deathly afraid of blood thinners

Who likes taking anything they didn't take when they were 15?

I'm 73, will be 74 end-of-June. Lifelong runner, cyclist, snowshoer, who ran my heart hard. It wasn't the running, although the literature is highly convincing that endurance athletes often, too often, go on to develop AF. No, it was 'severe obstructive sleep apnea', found only on the last diagnostic test my cardiologist asked me to undergo (chest X-rays, two MIBI stress tests with contrast, each approximately 500 chest X-rays worth of radiation, Doppler ultrasound of carotid arteries, echocardiogram, angiogram, and MRI. I now glow in the dark!).

The risk of a stroke from a clot when in AF, or having recently had a run of it lasting several long hours, rises to about five (5) times the 'normal' risk for a person of your age and general condition. We're both in our 70's, sssooooooo......

The area of concern is the 'left atrial appendage', or LAA. It's a small pouch at upper left of the left atrium, that vessel being where our AF originates. The LAA is poorly flushed of blood when the atrium is fibrillating. Blood can begin to clot inside it as a result. Your heart then resumes NSR where that strong tidal action flushes out the clot(s) and they get shoved out the aorta and into your lungs, your coronary arteries, your brain, your kidneys...not a salutary event, surely.

For paroxysmal patients, which I'm guessing you are at this early stage, the 90% probability is that the area of concern where the rogue signals originate is in the ostia, or mouths, of the four pulmonary veins. They empty oxygenated blood coming from the lungs into the left atrium, which forces it through the mitral valve into the chamber below it, the left ventricle, which powerfully ejects it up and out of the aorta through the aortal valve, also a one-way valve like the mitral valve. An electrophysiologist would offer to ablate the tissue around the pulmonary veins. This causes scarred tissue which is impassable to the rogue signals. They'll still be there, forever, still trying to get out, but the scar 'dam' blocks them. No signals, no atrial fibrillation, which is what you want. Fibrillation left unmanaged invites problems over time which we needn't discuss just now.

So, it's up to you: would you rather avoid the risk of a stroke, or are you willing to take the risk and enjoy not having the expense and the obligation to routinely ingest two 5 mg pills each day?

I've been on Eliquis ( 5 mg twice/day) since around June of 2021, when my pacemaker remote monitor reports showed a big uptick in the number and duration of my A-fib episodes. I've had to admit I was terrified about the prospect of having to take a blood thinner, but I have had absolutely no side effects or problems with taking this drug. I don't even notice any extra bruising from taking it.

From what I've seen, and read, and this has been my experience too, that a blood thinner generally doesn't cause a person to bleed, but it will enhance, maybe prolong a bleeding episode that is caused by a cut, fall or other injury. You may notice, for instance, that if you get a minor cut on your finger, the blood may ooze for some time after it would without the blood thinner, but you can still stop it easily enough by putting a little pressure on it. That's why they caution people with A-fib who have a job or a lifestyle that puts them at more risk for falling or other injuries, to possibly consider means than blood thinners to minimize stroke risk from clotting, such as a Watchman. I do my best to avoid falls, cuts, scrapes and I'm not particularly prone to accidents, and I've had no issues at all with Eliquis.

I'd much rather have the expense and obligation of taking the Eliquis than run the risk of having a debilitating stroke that could leave me helpless and paralyzed for the remainder of my life. I have a strong family history of strokes, and I've seen several great aunts, as well as other people in health care settings who have become completely helpless and mostly immobile, not even able to do much but drool as they live out the remainder of their lives in bed or sitting in a gerry chair. My stroke risks go beyond just the risk from my paroxysmal A-fib, and I don't want to live like that. That's me, personally, others may not have such high stroke risks, and they must decide for themselves the risks versus benefits of taking blood thinners.

As for the expense of Eliquis, the price of this drug looks to have decreased significantly since the beginning of 2026. I use a manufacturer's coupon that allows me to get my Eliquis prescriptions for $10 per month supply, or $30 per 3 month supply, but I have commercial prescription drug coverage that allows that. Even still, when I looked out of curiosity at various drug plans, including Medicare drug plans, I noted that the price of Eliquis prescriptions had dropped about 30-40% since last year. I think that should come as good news to the many folks who are taking it.

@gloaming

Thanks for the response. Your information is even more scary that the eliquis

@nitwit I am pleased you think so. 😀 Look, the medical establishment has 'standards of care'. Sometimes they could use a bit of a re-think, which the 'colleges' are supposed to promote as part of their professionalism. I would hope they'll admit that statins need a more sober look before long. But, as far as apixaban, rivaroxaban, and dabigatran are concerned, they work well. People fear 'bleed-outs', but the fact is if you get into that kind of situation, you're in a bad way even without a DOAC coursing through your veins. It's one of those things that happens so rarely that the risks of a stroke override what should be a rational decision to reduce one's risk of a stroke. Strokes happen too.....you know. And they are virtually never salutary. They can be catastrophic. So, it's a managed risk. Like marybird above, I have been cut and thwacked numerous times in my nearly nine year history with Eliquis. Fallen off my road bike, cut myself, jabbed myself, walked too close to a corner around a countertop and gouged my waist, leaving bruises. But, here I are, typing away madly on a keyboard trying to convince you that a stroke is a far worse prospect than taking a DOAC....maybe even for life.

@gloaming
You are a wise and bright individual with good advice. That’s just what I need to hear, someone who’s been there and can speak from experience. Thank you for the good advice, be well.