Is there?

[jenny]

HI all , it is me again, I am just wondering if you all know if there is a machine that I can purchase that shows each individual beat on the heart....sometimes the doctor said you can go into AFib without even knowing it , and if you let it go beyond 24 hours you could go into a stroke. I went to the doctors today and she wanted to put me on Coumadin, which I really would prefer not to do. I thought besides taking my pulse and seeing it is steady if there is a device that can show how the heart is actually beating. Is there such a machine? Thank you all so very much...Jenny, 1997 Mitrol valve repair and one bypass.

 

[Ross]

A good question for Al maybe?

Omron has pulse monitors, but I don't think that is accurate enough for your needs.

 

[Nancy]

My husband has afib and has had it chronically for years. He's on Coumadin though because he has mechanicals.

You would probably have to have something like a Holter monitor, and heart rhythms are so difficult to read. Without medical training of some sort, how could you tell. For instance afib or aflutter. Here's a link that might be helpful.

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/other/arrhyth.htm#artypes

 

[starkone]

Hi....
Just my two cents....you can buy a watch made by MIO that will give you a pulse reading without a chest strap. It is not continuous but you just put your fingers on it and your heart rate is exhibited. I wear it as the doctors have told me to keep the heart rate under a certain range. ( while they are still waiting to schedule surgery).
I don't know if this is what you are looking for but if so you can get it at Sharper Image, Healthrider stores, or I saw it at Galways? in Atlanta. I am sure you could get it online also.
Good luck,
Karen

 

[gary]

Forget about any consumer heart 'monitors' entirely.

Forget about any consumer heart 'monitors' entirely.

They will not be useful to you for pinpointing A-fib because part of the problem with A-fib is that it interrupts the pulse, it is very erratic and when I took mine by touch two weeks ago while 'something was going haywire in my chest' all I got was a LUb-then nothing for frightful seconds, then quick LUB-LUB-LUBs than nothing then a LUB.....etc.

When I then strapped on my Cardiosport monitor it would read back nothing then 260! which was totally false since my VTR was at 180 at its highest.

Holter is the only way to go and as Nancy says reading it accurately is the key as well.

I'm on Coumadin now too and it's not all that bad for the next several months to protect me in case I go into A-fib again.

24-48 hours should be plenty of time after A-fib onset to get to a hospital if you don't want to take it, but I'd strongly advise doing so if prescribed.

Most patients, 95%, get to a hosital if they have noticed their A-fib, so the track record for Coumadin saving patients from Stroke is only 5%. But as a precaution against being among those 5% who do not get to a hospital in time, it may be more than worth it to you.

 

[jenny]

Coumadin????

Coumadin????

I am wondering what you think of taking coumadin? I am a vegetarian and I have heard that you have to be very careful with green leafy vegetables......I live on these, so I am very hesitant of taking it.....If you are on this medication, how do you feel about taking it and what do you eat? I eat only fish , no red meat for about 20 years..I make a huge bowl of salad every night ...Thank you all for all the information you have given me....I really apprecaite it...thank you....Jenny

 

[Johnny Stephens]

Consistency is the key. I believe it's only a sudden change in what you eat that makes the INR change. So, if you never eat dark greens or broccoli and have a stable INR, then you suddenly start eating big spinach salads every night, you're going to need a dosage adjustment.

Others please chime in if I've gotten this wrong...

 

[gary]

Just on my 4th blood draw to regulate dosage

Just on my 4th blood draw to regulate dosage

so I'm the wrong one to ask.

What I've read is what's posted above "CONSISTENCY" above all
and watching your intake of excessive Vitamin K thru 'BINGEING'.

I doubt from what I've read any doctor would allow huge dark leafy green vegetable salads on a 7 day a week basis.

But others may know more about that aspect. I've been told to have ONE serving a day. or every other day. No more.

A balanced diet seems to be ideal, but by no means mandatory.

 

[Nancy]

Jenny-

There is a member allodwick who is an expert on Coumadin. He manages a Coumadin Clinic and is extremely helpful with any questions re: Coumadin. He's very generous in the time he devotes to this site. Here's the link to his website. It answers many questions, and you can also email him with your questions.

http://www.warfarinfo.com/

In addition, he usually checks out this forum for Coumadin questions. I would post a direct question right on the Coumadin thread of this site. He'll give you the best answers.

 

[jenny]

Thanks you all

Thanks you all

Thank you to all of you that have helped me the past couple of days . I have just discoved how to use this forum to find answers to the questions I need....geeeeeee it is tough being old and blonde .....thank you all again...Jenny

 

[Christina]

Hi Jenny.

We have a member on VR.com who's vegetarian. Her name is Rain and I am sure if you'd e-mail or post a message for her, she'd be happy to help you out. I also love vegetarian foods but am not a total vegetarian.
I eat green vegies every day, but if I've had my greens at lunch I'll choose another vegetable at dinner! I keep pretty steady and try to stay in the range where I need to be. Not always succesfull though! INR can be tricky!
My doctor is not afraid of a higher INR, and I've been at 4.9 and 5.1 without any problems with bleeding. He tells me not to go over 5 though. When I was at 4.9 he instructed me to skip the Coumadin for 48 hours. Wew, that was too long for me and I did not want to do that! Didn't tell him that though. I know by now how my body reacts, and if I'd skip Coumadin for that long it'll plummeth real fast. When that happens I just take 10mg less. I of course test a little more once I know I am off course to see where I am at. I take 20mg a day normally.
If I at times don't feel like eating green vegies or a salad my INR shoots up, so I have to eat a steady diet of green stuff every day. It is true what they tell you to be consistent with your diet, and that includes alcohol.

Hope this helps!

Christina
Congenital Aortic Stenosis
AVR's 8/7/00 & 8/18/00
St. Jude's Mechanical

 

[sylviayasgur]

hi jenny!
sorry to hear you have to be going through this.
all of the above said it all and i have very little to add....
when joey used to go in and out of afib, his cardio used to tell him that he had to get to the hospital or on coumadin between 24 and at the very outside 72 hours, preferable 48. we've done both and, thank God, he's been fine. there are so many ways to deal with afib, cardioversion, coumadin, other meds.
have you been in and out of afib for a long time? since when?
please let us know how things go. why don't you ask rain about diet and coumadin. good suggestion, christina!
stay well, sylvia