Coumadin and pacemaker

Can a patient with atrial fib stop taking coumadin with a pacemaker implant?

[Jerry_NJ]

Ask your doctor. My view is NO!  A pacemaker does nothing to stop AFib and the AFib is why Coumadin is being taken.

[ksig]

Take Jerry's advice to the bank.  I have a pacer, I have AFib and I take coumadin. I know that I will take coumadin for the rest of my life unless another drug comes out in the future.  Why do you want to stop taking this drug?
ksig

[caregiver222]

You ask an interesting, and by no means foolish question.

The answer is "maybe yes and maybe no".

If the atria has been destroyed by an ablation procedure and the pacemaker is the only means to control the heart rate, coumadin is no longer necessary or appropriate. The atrial fibrilation issue no longer exists.

On the other hand, if there are signifcant bouts of atrial fibrillation, coumadin may not be inappropriate.

There are alternatives to coumadin, most of which do not provide the same degree of clot protection, but with far fewer side effects.