How long you need anticoagulants depends on the balance of risks between having a blood clot and bleeding; these will differ for each individual. Your specialist will decide the length of time anticoagulants are needed in your particular case. This is just a guide. To help you remember, I have added song titles from the performers at the Coronation Concert. I have even … [Read more...]
Santa Claus atrial fibrillation risk
An article in The Medical Journal of Australia raised concerns that Santa has a risk of developing atrial fibrillation because of his advanced age and other risk factors. Currently, there is no guide to help manage his condition. Fortunately, the authors of the article have come up with some useful advice. They proposed the SANTA CLAUS mnemonic to aid … [Read more...]
I need surgery – on warfarin for atrial fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation is a common condition. It affects approximately 1% of the population and up to 10% of people over 70 years have AF. At some time, you may need surgery. If you take warfarin there is some additional risk. Most people are concerned that they have an increased risk of bleeding if they keep taking their treatment and an increased risk of a stroke if they stop. … [Read more...]
Medical Journal – AF – How many pills?
Researchers looked at 18,201 people with atrial fibrillation, AF, and found the average number of drugs each person took was six, with 76.5% of people taking six or more drugs. Most of these drugs are not for their AF but for their other medical conditions. More than three quarters of patients with AF take six or more drugs. This is a worrying finding, as polypharmacy … [Read more...]
Medical Journal -Sexism in AF treatment?
A major problem for people with AF is that they are not put on anticoagulants when they should be. But the study we’re looking at today shows it is even worse for women: Women are 1.8 times as likely to be undertreated for AF as men. Where’s the study from? It's a recently published study (May 2016) from the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society by Mark … [Read more...]
What’s the commonest reason for taking warfarin?
Atrial fibrillation, AF is the commonest reason for taking warfarin. Today we will be talking about AF and a study from a medical journal of the trends over the past 50 years. So what is AF? AF is a disorder of heart rhythm. In a normal beat, the atria contract first, (shown by the purple arrow as the p-wave on the ECG below) leading to a regular contraction of the … [Read more...]
