I have a history of a myocardial infarction and afib

Hi, @motiger. Glad you could join us here on Mayo Connect, and I hope you'll enjoy and benefit from conversations with the members that @kanaazpereira has poked for you. I wrote a fairly long comment in response to your opening message, then lost it when my computer window closed without warning. It was too wordy anyway, so I'll reconstruct from memory only the main points that I'd have bothered you with.

Like you, I have A-fib, but neither diabetes nor infarction. My main medication is Carvedilol, a newer version of the drug class that includes Metoprolol. My dosage matches yours -- 25mg AM and PM. But my dosage is that large as much for its effect on my blood pressure as on regulation of my heart rate. Does your diagnosis also involve hypertension?

Because A-fib sometimes results in small blood clots being formed in the heart and sprayed around in the arteries, I'm also on an anti-coagulant -- Coumadin. That has meant regular blood tests to be sure of a safe coagulant index and avoiding a lot of leafy vegetables which contain Vitamin K, a Coumadin antidote. Have you taken an anti-coagulant?

Are you pushing too hard with your exercise regimen? Not that I can see, and if your cardiologist is OK with your daily walk of a mile -- with a heart rate of 150 at the end -- you should keep right on trucking. My heart rate used to be 50bpm (from running, biking, and hiking); A-fib pushed it up above 90, but it's now regularly 75-85 as a result of the Carvedilol.

Incidentally, a number of patients on Carvedilol have troublesome side-effects, often because they (or their doctor) abruptly cut their dosage in half or less. It should always be phased down with the doctor's close oversight.

Let us know how you're doing . . . what you're thinking . . . as a result of these discussions. Oh, forgot to mention that I'm originally from Iowa, so I'm assuming that "motiger" reflects a relationship with the University of Missouri Tigers. Right? Martin

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Hi, @motiger. Glad you could join us here on Mayo Connect, and I hope you'll enjoy and benefit from conversations with the members that @kanaazpereira has poked for you. I wrote a fairly long comment in response to your opening message, then lost it when my computer window closed without warning. It was too wordy anyway, so I'll reconstruct from memory only the main points that I'd have bothered you with.

Like you, I have A-fib, but neither diabetes nor infarction. My main medication is Carvedilol, a newer version of the drug class that includes Metoprolol. My dosage matches yours -- 25mg AM and PM. But my dosage is that large as much for its effect on my blood pressure as on regulation of my heart rate. Does your diagnosis also involve hypertension?

Because A-fib sometimes results in small blood clots being formed in the heart and sprayed around in the arteries, I'm also on an anti-coagulant -- Coumadin. That has meant regular blood tests to be sure of a safe coagulant index and avoiding a lot of leafy vegetables which contain Vitamin K, a Coumadin antidote. Have you taken an anti-coagulant?

Are you pushing too hard with your exercise regimen? Not that I can see, and if your cardiologist is OK with your daily walk of a mile -- with a heart rate of 150 at the end -- you should keep right on trucking. My heart rate used to be 50bpm (from running, biking, and hiking); A-fib pushed it up above 90, but it's now regularly 75-85 as a result of the Carvedilol.

Incidentally, a number of patients on Carvedilol have troublesome side-effects, often because they (or their doctor) abruptly cut their dosage in half or less. It should always be phased down with the doctor's close oversight.

Let us know how you're doing . . . what you're thinking . . . as a result of these discussions. Oh, forgot to mention that I'm originally from Iowa, so I'm assuming that "motiger" reflects a relationship with the University of Missouri Tigers. Right? Martin

Jump to this post

Hi, @motiger. Glad you could join us here on Mayo Connect, and I hope you'll enjoy and benefit from conversations with the members that @kanaazpereira has poked for you. I wrote a fairly long comment in response to your opening message, then lost it when my computer window closed without warning. It was too wordy anyway, so I'll reconstruct from memory only the main points that I'd have bothered you with.

Like you, I have A-fib, but neither diabetes nor infarction. My main medication is Carvedilol, a newer version of the drug class that includes Metoprolol. My dosage matches yours -- 25mg AM and PM. But my dosage is that large as much for its effect on my blood pressure as on regulation of my heart rate. Does your diagnosis also involve hypertension?

Because A-fib sometimes results in small blood clots being formed in the heart and sprayed around in the arteries, I'm also on an anti-coagulant -- Coumadin. That has meant regular blood tests to be sure of a safe coagulant index and avoiding a lot of leafy vegetables which contain Vitamin K, a Coumadin antidote. Have you taken an anti-coagulant?

Are you pushing too hard with your exercise regimen? Not that I can see, and if your cardiologist is OK with your daily walk of a mile -- with a heart rate of 150 at the end -- you should keep right on trucking. My heart rate used to be 50bpm (from running, biking, and hiking); A-fib pushed it up above 90, but it's now regularly 75-85 as a result of the Carvedilol.

Incidentally, a number of patients on Carvedilol have troublesome side-effects, often because they (or their doctor) abruptly cut their dosage in half or less. It should always be phased down with the doctor's close oversight.

Let us know how you're doing . . . what you're thinking . . . as a result of these discussions. Oh, forgot to mention that I'm originally from Iowa, so I'm assuming that "motiger" reflects a relationship with the University of Missouri Tigers. Right? Martin

Jump to this post

Hi, @motiger. Glad you could join us here on Mayo Connect, and I hope you'll enjoy and benefit from conversations with the members that @kanaazpereira has poked for you. I wrote a fairly long comment in response to your opening message, then lost it when my computer window closed without warning. It was too wordy anyway, so I'll reconstruct from memory only the main points that I'd have bothered you with.

Like you, I have A-fib, but neither diabetes nor infarction. My main medication is Carvedilol, a newer version of the drug class that includes Metoprolol. My dosage matches yours -- 25mg AM and PM. But my dosage is that large as much for its effect on my blood pressure as on regulation of my heart rate. Does your diagnosis also involve hypertension?

Because A-fib sometimes results in small blood clots being formed in the heart and sprayed around in the arteries, I'm also on an anti-coagulant -- Coumadin. That has meant regular blood tests to be sure of a safe coagulant index and avoiding a lot of leafy vegetables which contain Vitamin K, a Coumadin antidote. Have you taken an anti-coagulant?

Are you pushing too hard with your exercise regimen? Not that I can see, and if your cardiologist is OK with your daily walk of a mile -- with a heart rate of 150 at the end -- you should keep right on trucking. My heart rate used to be 50bpm (from running, biking, and hiking); A-fib pushed it up above 90, but it's now regularly 75-85 as a result of the Carvedilol.

Incidentally, a number of patients on Carvedilol have troublesome side-effects, often because they (or their doctor) abruptly cut their dosage in half or less. It should always be phased down with the doctor's close oversight.

Let us know how you're doing . . . what you're thinking . . . as a result of these discussions. Oh, forgot to mention that I'm originally from Iowa, so I'm assuming that "motiger" reflects a relationship with the University of Missouri Tigers. Right? Martin

Jump to this post