Thanks for the info!
My BP is well below 120/80 now with the 50mg of atenolol. Its usually under 110/70.
I had a really fast heart rate and strong palpitations when I had my episode. So unless I get atrial fib again I'm not going to be too concerned about stroke. I will keep taking aspirin even though it doesn't seem to help with Atrial Fib related strokes. Reducing my risk for other strokes is still a good idea. Anyway it looks like there are a lot of new ways to cure atrial fib if it comes back again and gets worse.
Hi Matt,
I understand your concerns. There is an article in the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine that addresses these issues in detail.
http://www.ccjm.org/PDFFILES/Fitzgeraldsuppl4_05.pdf
Your risk of stroke is calculated by looking at your risk factors and the acronym CHADS2
Congestive heart failure 1 point
Hypertension 1 point
Age greater than 75 1 point
Diabetes 1 point
Stroke or transient ischemic attack (stroke with symptoms that last less than 24 hours) 2 points
If you have 0-1 point, your risk of strike low and the risk of bleeding with coumadin is greater than the risk of stroke --- therefore aspirin is sufficient. Coumadin can be considered, but aspirin is usually recommended. If you have more 2 or more points, coumadin is recommended. It sounds like you have one point (hypertension).
Your risk of stroke is calculated at 2.8% per year or 2.8 per 100 patient years.
81 mg is sufficient for aspirin.
If you had symptoms with your atrial fibrillation, it is likely that you will have symptoms again. I would not do random screening for it.
If you really want help falling a sleep at night, this is the guideline statement for treatment of atrial fibrillation.
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/114/7/700 (short cut)
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/114/7/700 (on the right side you will see where it says print pdf -- hit hit link if the above links don't work
My office website discusses basics of atrial fibrillation and treatment in a more watered down version than the guidelines statement.
http://www.afib.whaclinic.com/understanding-afib.htm
I hope this answers your questions. thanks for posting.