If you have atrial fibrillation (AFib), you have a higher chance of developing blood clots, which significantly increase your risk for a stroke. Your doctor may suggest taking blood thinners to combat this danger.
You may be concerned about the increased risk of hard-to-control bleeding that comes with blood thinners. Blood thinners inhibit your blood’s natural ability to clot – an essential part of your body’s recovery after a cut or wound that causes bleeding. This can be particularly troubling for older patients, who worry about bleeding under the skin. Other potential threats include bleeding in the brain, urinary tract or the gut.
If you have AFib, however, the potential life-saving benefits may far outweigh the heightened bleeding risk.
What Is AFib?
Atrial fibrillation is a type of irregular heartbeat, also known as an arrhythmia. There are an estimated 5 million people in the U.S. living with AFib.
When operating correctly, your heart’s electrical rhythm is regulated by an area of the heart known as the sinus node. But when you have AFib, a disruption causes haphazard electrical impulses, creating a chaotic heart rhythm that may feel alarming.
Not everyone with AFib experiences it the same way. If you asked 50 AFib patients to describe their symptoms, you might hear 50 different answers. But among the most common symptoms:
- Fluttering sensation in the chest
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Lightheadedness
- Fatigue
The condition can take a toll on your heart, which has to work harder. This elevates your risk for several other health problems, including blood clots and stroke.
Why Blood Thinners Are Prescribed for AFib
There is no one-size-fits-all approach for your doctor’s suggestion on blood thinners. First, your care team will calculate your risk of forming blood clots inside your heart chamber. There are multiple scoring systems, which consider a range of factors, including age, sex and health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and vascular disorders.
The scoring system can help identify people who are at much higher risk and would definitely benefit from blood thinners.
But there will be patients who fall into more of a gray area. Working with your doctor, you can decide whether the potential stroke-prevention benefits are worth the elevated risk from blood thinners.
Changing Times
There was a time when an AFib diagnosis would be followed almost immediately by a recommendation to take blood thinners for life. But we have developed new ways to monitor our hearts.
The growing popularity of smart watches has had a substantial impact on this, offering apps that keep track of your vital signs, including the electrical activity in your heart. These apps can immediately tell you if you are entering AFib. This matters because we know that your stroke risk increases substantially if you remain in AFib for more than 24 hours. Along those same lines, the app may show that you only experience AFib for a few minutes a day, which could help your doctor recommend staying off blood thinners.
It's also important to know that a daily aspirin instead of blood thinners might not be your best bet. Historically, aspirin has been considered a lower-risk alternative. But that’s no longer true. Some of the newer blood thinners have been shown to have lower risk of causing severe bleeding, while also offering greater protection against stroke.
If you have AFib and have been avoiding blood thinners, it may be helpful to talk with your cardiologist to review your options.
This content is not AI generated.
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