Talk to your cardiologist about a Watchman ablation. It shuts off the chamber from possible issues. Your Doctor can advise. My wife and I both had the procedure because we were spending $1000 per month on Eliquis (outrageous, isn’t it?)
even better is cryoablation for pulmonary-vein isolation if the pulmonary veins are the source of the afib, which is the most common source of afib ... Watchman reduces stroke risk, but won’t restore normal sinus rhythm ...
Dr. Wilber Su, Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix electrophysiology director is one of the best in the world for cryoablation, a procedure in which substantial clinical experience is vital ...
My wife does not want any foreign objects in her body.
Her father had a pacemaker but we all have our phobias.
I had been taking Eliquis for AFIB for several years, and a couple months ago my right hand suddenly went numb for about 10 minutes. Went to the ER, did a CT scan and found that there had been some bleeding in the brain, which they said was most likely caused by the blood thinning from eliquis.
So the neurologist said I should stop taking it. I was also on one baby aspirin a day and he said that was OK. My cardiologist was still worried about potential clotting that eliquis was supposed to prevent, so he recommended the Watchman procedure provided my heart could handle that.
I also have a pacemaker that monitors afib and vbib. And I get a report every month that shows when they happen and how long they last. In my case afibs happen two or three times a months and only last for a minute or two. And apparently unless they are of much longer durations, like an hour, they’re not a problem. Haven’t had any vbibs which are much more dangerous, even in short durations.
Well, my pacemaker is set up to send an alarm if that happens, so we decided that would be enough of a precaution, so we passed on the Watchman and I’m also off Eliquis - and just monitoring things.
“Talk to your cardiologist about a Watchman ablation.”
I checked in to Watchman when I learned my Eliquis would be “lifelong”.
It’s a great thing for heart issues (AFib mostly), but my heart is fine. It won’t work for DVTs, which is my reason for the drug.