AFib and Medication

Shelley, I was on asprin but due to "New Guidlnes" I was changed to Eliquis

because they now say asprin would not protect me from a stroke. As much as I hate taking medication the thought of a stroke is more worrying. I have had no side effects from Eliquis.

Old age...Man you gotta hate it. Your doctor is right. Risk factors for stroke include age, hypertension, atrial fibrillation and a bunch more. The actual risk is tricky to figure out. I went at it this way, probably wrong: a 65 year old guy is in a cohort of people who are at risk for embolic stroke at the rate of about 6 strokes per 1,000 patient/years. Out of a thousand people age 65 about 6 will have strokes in any one year. Atrial fibrillation just about doubles the risk of stroke to 11+ strokes per 1000 patient/years. Oral anticoagulation, properly monitored cuts the afib part of the stroke risk about in half for a net stroke risk of about 9 per 1000 patient years. Scary people will say that even properly anticoagulated you (and I) will have a stroke risk which is 150% of normal risk. Optimistic people will say the excess stroke risk in that group is 3 strokes per 1000 people per year. No anticoagulation people will have 6 excess strokes over the normals. Doesn't sould like much, but here is what decided me to take the warfarin, monitor it myself at home (I'm in the U.S. where that can be done, don't know about UK). That way I can keep watch and make sure I stay in the guidelines, and thereby, if and when I have a disabling stroke, I will not have to put up with my wife, suddenly demoted to invalid caregiver, barking at me for failing to do everything possible to keep her out of that stinky job. So I say do what your doctor says, wear a MedAlert bracelet about the blood thinner so that the emergency responders will know why you are bleeding so much when you fall off your bike, and get on with life. This rotten ailment can consume your thoughts if you let it. Don't let it.