Heart trouble

It appears that I am having a little bit of trouble with my heart. It
came on rather suddenly, as an EKG last December showed no problem at
all. But apparently I have developed something called an atrial
fibrillation. It doesn't look good for my flying status, but we shall
see.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

Re a-fib, very very common. May not screw up your medical, There are
meds that work to control it, but ablation seems like a sure cure for
many. If it's serious you MUST get onto an aggressive anticoagulant,
check with your MD. Coumadin is most often used.


You'll be told a-fib is not life threatening, that no one dies of it.
That's true, BUT that turbulant blood flow can cause clots, and those
can cause strokes, that's why an anti coagulant is needed.

Treat this a a layman's advice, but check with your doctor. There are
good heart places, and then most others. Be sure you're seeing one of
the best.



lantOn Jul 13, 10:36 am, C J Campbell
wrote:
It appears that I am having a little bit of trouble with my heart. It
came on rather suddenly, as an EKG last December showed no problem at
all. But apparently I have developed something called an atrial
fibrillation. It doesn't look good for my flying status, but we shall
see.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

On 2007-07-13 07:46:03 -0700, Tina said:

Re a-fib, very very common. May not screw up your medical, There are
meds that work to control it, but ablation seems like a sure cure for
many. If it's serious you MUST get onto an aggressive anticoagulant,
check with your MD. Coumadin is most often used.


You'll be told a-fib is not life threatening, that no one dies of it.
That's true, BUT that turbulant blood flow can cause clots, and those
can cause strokes, that's why an anti coagulant is needed.

Hah! Not exactly comforting. I got extremely small veins, you know. It
takes 'em four or five tries to get a blood test. :-)

They gave me Warfarin, which is a coumadin derivative.

I think that is the main thing -- making sure that:
a) Whatever caused it is not life threatening, it coming on so suddenly and
b) Whatever medication they give me doesn't ground me.


--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

Warfarin is the genetic version of Coumadin. The anti coag clinics
around Duke University Hospital like to Rx Coumadin since they say its
results are a little more predictable -- fewer batch to batch
variations.

The INR test, which is used to measure the effectiveness of the
warfarin, can be be done with a finger stick drop of blood. If your
facility is doing a venipuncture, they are a bit outdated. Find
another anti coag clinic if your place has trouble finding a reliable
vein.

Warfarin is very good, BUT! You have to eat a fairly steady diet of
greens, you can't have a lot one week and none the next, the INR will
go all over the place.

Also, if you get a cold or start throwing up, or do some heavy
workouts that are uncommon, your INRs can really go from the useful
range (2 to 3, more or less) to 10 or more, and that's getting to
where you can have internal bleeding. Just be aware, if you suddenly
start bruising easily or bleeding a lot when you floss, or have black
stools, to go have your INR checked. Don't wait. Be really aware if
you suddenly change your diet. These things happen very rarely, the
chances are small that they will happen to you, but you want to be
aware and alert anyhow.

The data goes something like this: if you don't take an anti coagulant
like warfarin, your chances of stroking can be about 10 or 12% a year.
If you do take it, your chances are less than the average person of
your age and condition (which might be 3 or 5% a year). Oh, and
aspirin is only about a third as effective as warfarin.

The meds that are often suggested to control a-fib have some evidence
of working, at least for a while. Tikosyn, for example, seems to work
for many people for a couple of years.

A-fib becomes increasingly common as we age, it may not go away on
its own. Only in really bad cases will someone become light headed or
pass out. I don't know anything about FAA physicals but if you're
asymptomatic I'd guess the outlook would be good. You didn't even know
you had it until you took a routine EKG, right?.

One last thing. RF ablation (which may in the next decade become the
standard of care for a-fib) is done on an out patient basis at Duke.

Remember, I'm a non professional source of information, validate what
I say with your electrocardiologist. And by all means you should be
talking with one of those, and not a cardiologist. Although a
cardiologist can be helpful, it would be much better to deal with
someone who is more in tune with the electrophysology of your heart.


Tina

"Tina" wrote in message
ps.com...
Warfarin is the genetic version of Coumadin. The anti coag clinics
around Duke University Hospital like to Rx Coumadin since they say its
results are a little more predictable -- fewer batch to batch
variations.

When I was a kid on the farm Warfarin was in the bait we set out for the
rats (not that I am implying anything here). Sorry to hear this CJ.

Allen

On 2007-07-13 12:33:16 -0700, "Allen" said:


"Tina" wrote in message
ps.com...
Warfarin is the genetic version of Coumadin. The anti coag clinics
around Duke University Hospital like to Rx Coumadin since they say its
results are a little more predictable -- fewer batch to batch
variations.

When I was a kid on the farm Warfarin was in the bait we set out for the
rats (not that I am implying anything here). Sorry to hear this CJ.

Allen

Oh good. Rat poison. Maybe I could save a ton of money by a trip out to
the garage...
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

Allen wrote:.
When I was a kid on the farm Warfarin was in the bait we set out for the
rats (not that I am implying anything here). Sorry to hear this CJ.

Check out Aviatrix's blog (particularly the archives from 3-6 months
ago) for similar comments and one pilot's experience with Warfarin.
Take her account with a grain of salt, however, as she's Canadian, and
their medical standards are apparently far more strict than in the US.

http://airplanepilot.blogspot.com/

-Doug

--
--------------------
Doug Vetter, ATP/CFI

http://www.dvatp.com
--------------------

Allen writes:

When I was a kid on the farm Warfarin was in the bait we set out for the
rats (not that I am implying anything here).

It was used because it causes massive and fatal bleeding in the rats.

Tina wrote:


etc...The INR test, which is used to measure the effectiveness of the
warfarin, can be be done with a finger stick drop of blood. If your
facility is doing a venipuncture, they are a bit outdated. Find
another anti coag clinic if your place has trouble finding a reliable
vein...etc


Whoa! Where's all this medical advice coming from? Also, it's quite
possible that tests other than an INR were ordered, requiring a
venipuncture as opposed to a finger stick. No point in making the guy
lose confidence in his facility without more reason.

On Jul 13, 7:00 pm, RomeoMike wrote:
Tina wrote:

etc...The INR test, which is used to measure the effectiveness of the
warfarin, can be be done with a finger stick drop of blood. If your
facility is doing a venipuncture, they are a bit outdated. Find
another anti coag clinic if your place has trouble finding a reliable
vein...etc

Whoa! Where's all this medical advice coming from? Also, it's quite
possible that tests other than an INR were ordered, requiring a
venipuncture as opposed to a finger stick. No point in making the guy
lose confidence in his facility without more reason.