Blood Is Thicker Than Water?

Whoever came up with that expression must have never been on Coumadin. When I've gone in for my ProTime tests, I can usually tell if my blood is thin enough to be in the therapeutic range (INR between 2.0 and 3.0) before the machine gives a reading. If my blood comes out like cherry kool-aid after the finger stick, I'm good (sorry for the analogy).

But those days are finally behind me now. The Coumadin is now on the shelf next to the rest of my old heart meds. I guess I'll keep the meds around just in case but at this point they seem more like trophies celebrating a successful ablation. The Coumadin has been replaced for now with a single adult aspirin daily. I still need a small dose (5mg) of Lisinopril for high blood pressure that should have been treated a long time ago. I can deal much better with just one prescription med and the pharmacist won't get to see my lovely wife (or our money) near as often now.

I could have gotten to this point a few weeks earlier but it took a little bit to get scheduled for the required follow-up testing. I wore a 48-hour holter monitor a couple of weeks ago and the results showed normal sinus rhythm with about 80 PVC's per day. The Premature Ventricular Contractions feel like skipped beats but are not a concern. My cardiologist wonders if or why the PVC's are more frequent after my ablation since all of the burns were made in the atria. It could just be that I notice them more. Whatever the case, it seems like they are letting up even in the two weeks since the holter test. My resting heart rate is still in the 80's but not causing any problems or symptoms.

I had an echocardiogram a little over a week ago and the results were also encouraging. My left and right atria are still both mildly enlarged but have gotten smaller since my last echo in November 2007. Some of the enlargement is due to the AF, and some of it could be due to my untreated high blood pressure. I am thankful to see some improvement now that both possible causes are under control.

Normally these test are done closer to the 3-month point post procedure which would have allowed me to get off the Coumadin earlier. Dr. Natale would also like me to have a CT scan to check for any stenosis (narrowing due to scarring) of the pulmonary veins but I am still waiting for insurance approval for that test. My insurance only likes to approve a CT scan for this purpose if I am having symptoms (which I am not).

So that's the latest. I am definitely enjoying the spring weather and a normal heartbeat. I hope and pray the same for everyone reading this. Best wishes.

Dave