TOTALLY GEEKED!

Members Login
Username 
 
Password 
    Remember Me  
totallygeeked -> totallygeeked general -> An Irregular Heartbeat Can Cause a Stroke
Post Info TOPIC: An Irregular Heartbeat Can Cause a Stroke
ed11563


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 9186
Date:
An Irregular Heartbeat Can Cause a Stroke
Permalink  
 

 

 

An Irregular Heartbeat Can Cause a Stroke

Heartbeat.jpg

Try these new approaches to protect yourself against atrial fibrillation…

If you have a type of irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation (or “A-fib”), your increased risk for stroke and other serious conditions can be a frightening prospect to live with.

WHAT GOES WRONG

A-fib is a rapid and irregular heartbeat triggered when the upper chambers of the heart (atria) quiver erratically, sometimes faster than 300 times per minute.

Symptoms may include the sensation of a pounding or fluttering heart, chest pain, intense fatigue, shortness of breath for no apparent reason and/or sudden dizziness. However, in some cases, A-fib can be “silent”—with no symptoms at all.

For more on this topic, see our
Guide to Prevent a Stroke

A-fib is usually suspected based on a person’s symptoms and a physical exam. It is also sometimes discovered when a person undergoes routine heart tests, such as an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)…a stress test…or an echocardiogram. A definitive diagnosis of A-fib requires some type of ECG monitoring, which shows A-fib.

New treatment approaches…

IS MEDICATION RIGHT FOR YOU?

Stroke is the number-one problem caused by A-fib—but prescribing a blood-thinning medication (anticoagulant) to prevent stroke isn’t always straightforward—each drug has possible side effects that must be balanced against its benefits.

Fortunately, decision-making about drugs for A-fib just got a lot easier for doctors. Guidelines now endorse the use of a new medical calculator—the exact name is “CHA2DS2-VASc Score for Atrial Fibrillation Stroke Risk”—that includes several specific stroke risk factors, such as vascular disease and female gender, to more accurately predict who is likely to suffer a stroke and whether treatment with a blood thinner is right for the patient. Older risk calculators did not include these specific risk factors.

What to do:  If you have been diagnosed with A-fib, tell your doctor that you want to check your stroke risk with the CHA2DS2-VASc Score to determine whether or not you should be on a blood-thinning medication to prevent a stroke. The calculator and instructions on how to use it are available online at many websites, including ClinCalc.com.

THE BLOOD THINNER QUESTION

The new guidelines also recommend for the first time that doctors treating patients with A-fib consider prescribing one of three blood-thinning drugs that have entered the marketplace in the last five years—dabigatran (Pradaxa), rivaroxaban (Xarelto) and apixaban (Eliquis). A fourth new blood thinner called edoxaban (Savaysa) has been released since these guidelines were published and will be included in the next update. Although more expensive than warfarin (Coumadin), the standard blood thinner, these drugs may offer some advantages over it.

For more information on choosing the right blood thinner: See the Bottom Line Health article The Truth About Blood Thinners.

BEYOND STROKE PREVENTION

The frequency of A-fib symptoms can be eliminated or reduced with antiarrhythmic medication, such as flecainide (Tambocor) or propranolol (Inderal), or catheter ablation. With this procedure, a catheter (thin, flexible tube) is inserted through a vein in the groin and snaked into the heart. Radiofrequency energy is used to destroy “aberrant pacemaker” cells that send out irregular impulses that trigger A-fib.

For best results: The most successful outcomes occur in medical centers where the procedure is performed regularly. Guidelines also recommend that an electrophysiologist (a cardiologist who specializes in treating electrical problems of the heart) perform a minimum of two A-fib ablation procedures each month to maintain competency. There is no substitute for experience, for both the physician and ablation center, when it comes to complex cardiac procedures.

Source: Hugh Calkins, MD, a professor of medicine and the Nicholas J. Fortuin M.D. Professor of Cardiology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and director of Cardiac Arrhythmia Services and Electrophysiology Laboratory at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, both in Baltimore. He has published more than 500 scientific papers and book chapters and is an associate editor of the Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology. Dr. Calkins is a past president of the Heart Rhythm Society.

 



__________________

The Principle of Least Interest: He who cares least about a relationship, controls it.

Always misinterpret when you can.
lilyofcourse


My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Status: Offline
Posts: 38325
Date:
Permalink  
 

That's what I live with.

I take medication to help regulate my heart.

If I miss a dose time, I know it in about 30 minutes.



__________________

A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.

Charley Harper
lilyofcourse


My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Status: Offline
Posts: 38325
Date:
Permalink  
 

And I've had to take blood thinner shots.

In the stomach.

My goodness do they hurt and bruise like crazy.

__________________

A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.

Charley Harper
ed11563


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 9186
Date:
Permalink  
 

lilyofcourse wrote:

And I've had to take blood thinner shots.

In the stomach.

My goodness do they hurt and bruise like crazy.

I wonder whether the pain and bruising are normal side effects, or if your clinicians could come up with something that would work just as well for you, and not have the pain and bruising. 

 

 



__________________

The Principle of Least Interest: He who cares least about a relationship, controls it.

Always misinterpret when you can.
lilyofcourse


My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Status: Offline
Posts: 38325
Date:
Permalink  
 

That was when I was in the hospital.

I don't take them now. I took Plavix for almost 3 years. It thinned my blood too much and as a female still getting her monthlies, well, it was just beyond awful.

I stopped taking it without my doctors knowing. I didn't take the blood thinner, cholesterol meds or potassium and let them keep doing their blood tests every 3 months.

After a year of good results I told them I had stopped all but two meds. They didn't like it but they couldn't argue with the results.


__________________

A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.

Charley Harper
lilyofcourse


My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Status: Offline
Posts: 38325
Date:
Permalink  
 

Oh and it hurt so bad to get the shots in the stomach because of both the volume of the shot and cause that's a wall off muscle.

__________________

A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.

Charley Harper
lilyofcourse


My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Status: Offline
Posts: 38325
Date:
Permalink  
 

And the bruising was the blood being thinned.

__________________

A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.

Charley Harper
Renegade Time Lord


Am I A Good Man?

Status: Offline
Posts: 368
Date:
Permalink  
 

(Disclaimer:  I am NOT seeking any advice, thanks.  I am just sharing my experience with this condition).  I have had a-fib since the early 90s, brought on by Grave's disease (treated), so my knowledge is extremely keen about my condition.  I currently manage it on my own, without medication.  A few years ago I started having runs of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT).  Fortunately, I use several techniques to stop the irregular rhythms, which seem to work well for me.  I am not too concerned about the risks.  My anatomy/physiology is also a bit different from the "norm" as well, which helps me. 

I have noticed since I started doing PT for my right knee in May of this year that I have had very few episodes of a-fib and SVT.  Perhaps it is the intense physical workout that is therapeutic.  I will be done with PT at the end of September, and plan to continue exercising on my own after that to test my theory, and to of course keep in shape and heal my knee further.  smile



__________________
weltschmerz


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 4882
Date:
Permalink  
 

lilyofcourse wrote:

And I've had to take blood thinner shots.

In the stomach.

My goodness do they hurt and bruise like crazy.

I've had those. They hurt like hell. You know what also hurts like hell? Getting blood drawn from your feet. Holy cow! 



__________________
lilyofcourse


My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Status: Offline
Posts: 38325
Date:
Permalink  
 

Never blood taken from my feet.

But having it taken from the artery in my wrist was mind numbingly painful.

They had to do that three times looking for heart enzymes.

__________________

A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.

Charley Harper
Page 1 of 1  sorted by
Quick Reply

Please log in to post quick replies.
totallygeeked -> totallygeeked general -> An Irregular Heartbeat Can Cause a Stroke


Create your own FREE Forum
Report Abuse 		Powered by ActiveBoard