Warfarin

Hello Forum,

I was fitting with a PM 3 months after an asystole heart event, it was about 20 seconds, they said it could be caused by heart block or Afib.

I have been on Warfarin for 3 months now, my INR has never gone above 1 and I am now on 12mg per night. 12mg is easy as it is four blues :-)

I been for my first checkup and the PM is working about 40% of the time, and I am due another checkup next month. I hope / think the pacing will have gone down (fingers crossed)

I was interested in peoples opinions on safely stopping warfarin. I mean how many 3 monthly checkups of no AF, should I safely consider asking the doctor about stopping the warfarin.

The reasons I am asking, is because it is not having any affect at all, and also would it only be prescribed for Afib, then if I don't have it any more after 6 or 9 months, is it safe to stop it.

I wont want to risk my health at all, but I also don't want to take something that is for a condition I have only ever suffered for 12 hours on the 29th of December last year.

Does anybody know why the warf would not work in my case. The only thing I have changed in 3 months is that I have lost 2 stone. Does it mean I have something else wrong or I am just one of them it does not work on :-)

Any Advice would be great

Graham

5 Comments

Some Thoughts

by gleesue - 2014-03-20 04:03:46

Every case is a little different. I have had A-fib problems since 1991 but have never been on a blood thinner for any extended period. I think it is mostly for those who are in A-fib all the time. My problem was I would run fine, then have an attack of A-fib that could not be broken with drugs and always had to be cardioverted. Drugs did not keep me under control either. Therefore, my doctor pretty much kept me off all drugs. I just had to go in and get cardioverted occasionally. The important thing is he always said you did not have to worry for 24 – 48 hours after the beginning of an attack. After that, I would need a transesophageal to be sure no clots have developed before I could be cardioverted.
Of course, your EP is the only one who can make the decision. We can only give you ideas here. However, if you have only had one episode of A-fib perhaps you should discuss the consequences of going off Warfarin with him. I would also ask him about switching to Eliquis.

Jerry

Risk is risk

by Theknotguy - 2014-03-20 09:03:23

Once you've had afib the chances of getting afib again are 100%. Afib can cause you to have a blood clot. When the heart returns to normal rhythm it can pump out the blood clot. You can then have a stroke, etc. You also have a PM.

Regardless of how you feel, you'll always need to be on a blood thinner. The leads from the PM are a foreign object and, as such, can cause problems with blood clots. The blood thinner prevents having blood clots due to the leads from the PM.

I was on Coumadin/Warfarin. Hated every minute of it. Due to the Coumadin and my doctor, I ended up in the hospital seven times. So you can understand why I call Coumadin - rat poison. So I don't argue with you about wanting off Coumadin/Warfarin.

In the US, we have access to Eliquis - Apixaban. It is a blood thinner but you don't need to have the blood draws you have on Warfarin. It also isn't as hard on the body as Warfarin. I would imagine it's available in the UK. If at all possible I'd suggest you switch.

Afib is sneaky. I can tell you when my afib started, how intense, and when it stops. That's when it wakes me up. Since getting my PM which constantly records what is going on, I've had afib sessions that lasted for a few seconds and didn't wake me up. So just because you feel you didn't have afib doesn't mean you didn't have afib. And, each afib session increases your chances of having a blood clot. Playing Russian Roulette with my life and afib is not something I want to do. Please stay on a blood thinner. Risking your life isn't worth it.

Otherwise, I hope you continue to feel well.

Theknotguy

My Experience

by Chase - 2014-03-21 02:03:12

I had Afib for several years and finally had an ablation in Oct 2011. Everything went fine and it stopped the Afib, and knock on wood, it hasn't returned. After several months they took me off of WarfarIn. In Sept 2012 I had a severe PE, several blod clots in both lungs. I thank god I'm still alive. They put me back on Warfarin. In March I had a stent put in one of the veins going into the heart. The docs again took me off of Warfarin and put me on Plavix and a baby asprin. I questioned taking me off of Warfarin and they said I didn't need it. Two weeks later I had another PE. They put me back on the Wafarin, and I'll be on it for the rest of my life. I know we're all different, but if you have any concerns about blood clots, think carefully about going off of Warfarin.
Chase

Did you already have a clot?

by NiceNiecey - 2014-03-21 12:03:05

Did they prescribe that dose of Warfarin because you developed a clot? It's plausible that they might decrease the dose but if there's a chance of Afib, my understanding is that it's best to stay on something.

I had a DVT 2 weeks after getting the PM 3 months ago. I was initially on Eliquis and then Xarelto and I am now on one baby aspirin a day. It makes me a bit nervous just being on that but I'm trying to trust that the docs know what they're doing. I have another check up in a few weeks and we'll see what's happening.

In addition, I was started on a beta-blocker for crazy arrhythmia and that seems to have helped quite a bit.

And please don't worry about how often you're pacing. I don't understand all of it yet but I was initially pacing 12% in the right atrium. For whatever reason, I am now pacing 87%. I see you're young (10 years younger than me and I think I'M young!) so I am confident you'll do fine.

In the meantime, just worry about overall heart health and keep posting. Those with a contraption in their chest know how you feel

Niecey

Are you being followed by a

by janetinak - 2014-03-21 12:03:55

clinic or specialist in Coumadin? I have been followed by the Coumadin Clinic at my cardio/EP's office & learned a lot. Diet, exercise, other meds, ect all affect Coumadin. If you have not had any guidance I suggest you find an expert in your area to help you get into the accepted range. You are on a very high dose w/o getting into the accepted range INR for Afib which in my case is 2-3.

Hope that helps,

Janet

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