Does anyone with AFIB NOT take blood thinners?

I have paroxysmal AFib and have no symptoms at all. My episodes are sporadic and until this year they were always 30 seconds or less, again with no symptoms. My electrophysiologist did not recommend Xarelto or similar. My cardiologist recommended first Xarelto and finally Eliquis. I always refused until this year when the episode length increased occasionally to 2 hours, but no symptoms. I tried Eliquis and could not tolerate it. So I asked my cardiologist if I could increase my once a day 81mg Aspirin (Ecotrin) to 2 per day and my regular heart medications/BP meds. He agreed that he would be fine with that and I have been fine since. My Pacemaker is interrogated about every 6 months so they keep close tabs on the AFib.

@moey2720 I have been told by several docs that aspirin is not effective at preventing clots from afib. Studies on this seem to change so maybe you could check the latest ones.

I have asymptomatic, paroxysmal AFib, PACS (6%), PVCS (3%), occasional bradycardia and tachycardia, HfPEF, pulmonary hypertension, and an ascending aortic aneurysm. All my heart issues are stable. My average blood pressure is 106/66, and resting heart rate is 57.

I take 100 mg of Flecainide for an AFib episode and I can go up to 300 mg in 24 hours, plus Eliquis 5 mg twice a day for a month after an AFib episode. I rarely have an episode, but when I do, the 75-100 mg of Flecainide puts my heart back in sinus rhythm in about 2 hours.

I have learned to manage my arrhythmias with guidance from my EP and the AFib Cure book.

I have an Apple Watch, Lookee Tech ECG and Oximeter, and Omron Connect Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor (this device also flags arrhythmias). I keep an eye on my devices each day to keep my numbers in a healthy range. I send my ECGs to my EP's office with questions.

I eat well, keep my weight down, strength train with light weights, balance training, and jog indoors in my home 4-6 miles 3 days a week (I keep my heart rate under 120 or I start seeing arrhythmias on my ECG).

I don't feel the need to be on Eliquis and Flecainide daily, but I do eat 1/2 tsp of black cumin seeds and I am starting to eat a small portion of Natto everyday when not on Eliquis. . My EP is ok with this plan.

My mother had SVT starting in her 30's and passed away at 91 with a pacemaker. She followed a healthy lifestyle and enjoyed her life. I will be 70 soon and I try to also enjoy the beauty of each day, stay positive, find new hobbies, modify my activities and wear oxygen when I need to, and focus living the best life I can each day.

Great recap of your afib and maintenance. It sounds like you stay in great shape and have a great attitude. What I'm learning as I read about frequency and duration of afib other people have is that maybe my afib is not as mild and infrequent as I thought it was. Hmmm. I thought others had it constantly and theirs lasted much longer than mine. I do see that others do tend to have a higher heart rate when it's happening than I do. Thanks for sharing your story. Prayers for you.

@janet23 I was especially interested in your use of a blood thinner for one month after an afib episode. I read a study on that and have asked my docs. Noone has prescribed that for me. I suppose I could agree to an anti-coagulant and then just stop myself after a month! Are there issues with stopping? Do you taper? Is there a rebound risk?

I also wonder if EP's are up on short term treatment and cardiologists aren't. I only have a cardiologist. My afib episodes are dramatic with heart rate close to 200, but have been once a year since 2015, and I even just went two years. They ranged from one to 7 hours long. Then recently I had episodes 8/30, 9/5 and 9/13 all related to lifting. These were short, under 45 minutes, one was even 10 minutes.

I am looking into a hiatal hernia as a trigger. At any rate, glad you can do short term meds and am going to press for that for my episodes, at least if they go on more than 45 minutes or so. ( I take magnesium and drink low sodium V-8 for potassium.)

I had an episode in December 2021 and had several tests done my cardiologist and he decided that I needed a pacemaker, so I got one put in my chest. He told me that it was going to take care of my afib episodes, but after the pacemaker was installed, he wanted to prescribe blood thinners, which I refused and he got upset with me and said I don’t need to see you for a year, (that was in April 2022), so when I saw him this year, he still wanted to put me on blood thinners and I said no. I take vitamins that supposedly are to help thin the blood and I started taking Magnesium Taurate at night and so far have not had any afib episodes.

Had several episodes of paroxysmal AFib that were first recognized in the Fall of 19. Six months(2/20) later I had an Ablation procedure, I have worn a chest monitor three times since with no episodes picked up. That EP was very pro Eloquis, 5mg, 2/day, and with his departure from Vanderbilt my new EP (8/23) based on a stress EKG recommended a pacemaker implanted 8/31 for chronotropic Incompetence. The taking of Eloquis was stopped and I am now taking an aspirin. I am ok with this stoppage and have a long of questions for 12/7 first MD EP Followup since the 8/31 implant. I did have a device checkup 2 weeks after the procedure with another device checkup on 12/7 also.

@windyshores
I had to look up hiatal hernia having an afib connection. I hadn't heard that. I can say that I have a hiatal hernia, but I had it long before I had afib which started due to taking Kisqali for breast cancer. Even though I'm confident that afib would stop if I stopped Kisqali, I still try to figure out what triggers each episode as they aren't non-stop. It seems every time I think I have it figured out, then that same thing doesn't seem to trigger it. I do know chocolate does for sure. I'm very caffeine sensitive. Then I felt just high carb days triggered it, but then I can have very high carb days and no afib. Hard to say. I hope you can figure out your triggers.

@windyshores,

My EP still recommends Eliquis twice a day because there are no peer reviewed clinical studies showing that Nattokinase or Natto can prevent a stroke after an AFib episode. He did say that there are studies in progress to see if the 2-4 week approach to taking Eliquis after an AFib episodes will be effective in preventing strokes.

I did taper myself off of Eliquis before first starting the pill in the pocket approach.

My Apple Watch alerts me for arrhythmias, including AFib, and then I confirm it with my Lookee Tech ECG. I take 100 mg of Flecainide when I see big runs of PACs, which can turn into AFib, Apple Watch Alerts, or my ECG looks terrible after multiple measurements. I also check my ECG while exercising, hiking, traveling, air travel, or being more active than usual

AFib, like most people know, damages the heart. I want to identify and treat arrhythmias early. A recent overnight episode occurred with a lower heart rate and no symptoms. My EP looked at my Lookee Tech ECG and said I was in AFib with a heart rate of 99!

I prefer to eat the food Natto instead of the Nattokinase supplement on days when I am not taking Eliquis.. I am still recovering from the after effects of having a mild case of COVID in 2020, 2 Pfizer jabs and 1 J&J booster in 2021, which is when my serious heart issues started.

Nattokinase is in clinical trials as a treatment option to detox from the spike protein. I prefer to just eat the food which has a long safety history in Asian cultures where it is as a regular part of their diet.

I am very active and I like to hike and garden. I have had a couple of falls. I don't want to fall, hit my head, and go to a hospital and learn that they don't have the antidote for Eliquis, like other posters have mentioned.

I hope you can figure out the best approach to use to treat your AFib. We all have different experiences, co morbidities, and respond differently to medications and treatment options. I am still learning more each day, but I am happy I have made remarkable progress over the last 4 years by careful monitoring and trying new treatment options.

@californiazebra,

Thanks for your encouraging words. I'm glad we have this forum to share experiences and treatment options.