How long afib to get blood clot

Hi,

I have been reading some of the posts and saw that you would have to be in afib for at least 48 hours before you have a risk of getting a clot.  

is this true?

[cindy707]

I agree w. the above post completely...there are alot of factors that figure into this equation marilee and remember that docs have "clot busters" that they can use that takes care of it immediately. I had atrial fib and my heart rate went into the 300's and lo and behold here i sit still posting on this site.  A clot can happen in one minute, one hour, two days...it depends on your own body and if you are at risk for throwing a clot....

[is_something_wrong]

I think so.

Of course, this is based on statistics and I think 48 hours is where risk of blood clots is "significantly higher". You can get blood clots without Afib, and you can probably get them before 48 hours, as well as you can never get them, no matter how long you have Afib.

I believe (I'm no Afib expert) it's the convertion to sinus rhythm that is the most risky phase concerning blood clots. The upper chambers start to beat normal again, and blood clots can be "shaked" out.

[cindy707]

I agree w. the above post completely...there are alot of factors that figure into this equation marilee and remember that docs have "clot busters" that they can use that takes care of it immediately. I had atrial fib and my heart rate went into the 300's and lo and behold here i sit still posting on this site.  A clot can happen in one minute, one hour, two days...it depends on your own body and if you are at risk for throwing a clot....

[Rendo]

I was in A Fib. for 13 days, recently.  In my case, I have been on coumadin to prevent clots.   Apparently, this is done for those of us with Rheumatic heart disease.   Guess it worked..I'm still here!

[marilee176]

Thank you everyone, it is just scary so i try not to think about it.
I do take baby asprin everyday.

[Jerry_NJ]

I have been in permanent AFig for about 2.5 years now and take "blood thinners" ( warfarin and aspirin) and have not yet had a clot.  My understanding is the risk of a clot without preventive measure is a low number even if in AFib full time.  For example, I have to stop taking blood thinners before any surgery procedures.  In those cases I am in AFib for a few days without clot protection.  I believe my risk of clot formation for that total time is far less than 1% and is in the low percentage even if I go unprotected for a entire year... a risk like 3%.  These risk statistics are cumulative, two years is more like 6% risk.  These are the numbers I recall, and even if they are not the most accurate numbers they do give a quantitative sense of the risk. Too high to ignore, too low to worry about over short periods.