Impressive and honorable efforts by Mellanie Hills & Co. for sure:

http://www.signagainststroke.com/

Be sure to check it out and sign if you wish.

wow. Can't wait for a little more info on this subject. I am on Pradaxa and I consulted with my new Cardiologist about switching to asprin. She told me since my risk factor was low that I could stay on Pradaxa or change to Asprin. I am still have not made my mind up on what to do, but now since I read this blog I am really considering staying on Pradaxa.
Thanks for the info surfrat....
Dennis

Very interesting. I got that same email and did not see the part about aspirin not working. Where is it?
Peg

Peg, I copied the actual content/TXT that appeared in Mellanie's remark/opinion - just read the above. I don't believe there is any additional elaborative commentary @ this time. Obviously this is a subject that is/will be of some controversy but I must say, the poistion of many EPs I have read online supports this view point. ;)

My Doc says aspirin does not work for everyone. There is a simple blood test that can be done to see if it works for you.

Dee

That post came from the Yahoo Afib Support Group I belong to. My post (btw, I was going to post it here also):

Brian: I have been thinking about your post since Monday. I read the same quote
by Dr Mandrola. It really stuck with me too. I wasn't going to post about
people's stroke prevention ideas (It usually gets emotional and controversial)or
second guess their doctors, particularly since they weigh the risk of bleeds
versus stroke... but your point is so well taken, I think it needs to be
re-emphasized and expanded apon. Here is my take:

People who have Afib that is properly managed don't die from Afib... or rarely
do... they die from strokes. Therefore, if you are properly rate controlled, it
is the most important thing to address. For people like me who are asymptomatic,
it is so evident, because I am not constantly worried about symptoms. Symptoms
tend to be something people focus on, because they are flags that something is
wrong... so it seems that people equate symptom mitigation with a cure or
lessening Afib risk... but it is not the case.

Doctors manage their patients with care and knowledge, but it is strictly a
numbers game that is spread over their entire patient population. But we are all
individuals. I heard a doctor once who (half jokingly) described the difference
between a minor medical problem and a major one... the doctor's words: "A minor
medical problem is a medical problem you have, and a major medical problem is
one that I, the doctor, has." Now I realize that he was joking... but there is
some truth behind every joke. Jokes usually are designed to lessen some serious
issue and make people laugh and look at a subject with a different perspective.

So back to the 325 mg of aspirin topic. Dr Mandrola is a very honest person who
is personally touched by Afib, so he is someone who can understand and empathize
with Afib patients. He was telling the truth and revealed his human side. It
says alot.

To Alyson: "I take 325mg bayer as my blood thinner and so far its working just
fine..." As Dr Mandrola has said, anticoagulation success is measured in months
and years, not minutes and days (another one of his pearls of wisdom). Not
everyone who has Afib and isn't on anticoagulants gets a stroke in their
lifetime... I think the number uncoagulated is 33% and, of course, that number
takes into account the higher risk groups as defined by CHA2DS2VaSC. So that
means that the aspirin may be doing little or nothing in preventing stroke as
measured over time. I'm sure you don't get headaches, but beyond that, you might
just be lucky.

I don't know all your risk factors or age, but being female gets you 1 point in
the scoring system. People think that having Paroxysmal Afib lowers your risk
for stroke versus Persistent Afib... but experts no longer think that is true. I am
not sure of your situation, but the fact is, they think coverting back to NSR is
a time when stroke risk goes up.

My EP said I could be on 325 mg aspirin or take Pradaxa (in my case). I asked if
I should switch to 325 mg aspirin or possibly switch from Pradaxa to Xarelto
(Rivaroxiban) or Coumadin (Warfarin)... her answer? Stay with the Pradaxa. I
like Pradaxa. Since you are 63, you are close enough to 65 to warrant it and
since you tolerate it well, your risk of stroke is about the same as a
non-afibber in good health with my taking Pradaxa.

I hope you talk with your EP again... just to make sure. I couldn't not comment
in good conscience.

pete

And then.. there's this:

Take Two Aspirin and Don't Call Me in the Morning!

What if I told you a new drug had been discovered that could dramatically reduce cardiovascular disease, stroke and cancer, three of the leading killers in the U.S.?

You'd probably think it will take a decade to get FDA approval. Or it must have some ugly side effects.

Or that your insurance will never cover it and it must cost a fortune. Or, yeah sure, but do we know what it does to you after 10 or 20 years?

Well, it's already in your medicine chest.

A series of reports in the British medical journal The Lancet has scrutinized the data from many studies involving thousands of patients and demonstrated a very real anticancer effect from aspirin. The investigators examined aspirin trials that had been conducted for vascular disease and noticed that the aspirin groups had far fewer cancer deaths than the placebo groups. Previous studies using similar data mining techniques had shown that after 5 years of taking 75 mg (a very small dose) daily, the risk of dying from common cancers decreases by 10 to 60 percent, depending on the cancer. This includes prostate, lung, colorectal, esophageal and other cancers. This therapeutic effect was not seen in populations that had taken aspirin every other day.

(it goes on to talk about the anti-clotting effect and how it prevents strokes in those at risk)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-spector-md/aspirin-health_b_1418115.html

Good info to have, thanks for posting. Something I need to ask my cardiologist and EP about since I am taking 325mg aspirin for anticoagulation.

Some of the stats from the link , such as "increases the risk of stroke by 500%", cause me to be wary of the entire link.
.

I agree with the fact that aspirin reduces cancer, heart attack and stroke. I took it for 20 years everyday without a problem. I wish I could take 81mg with the Pradaxa for that reason. However, aspirin is much less effective in reducing afib stroke. It is very controversial regarding scores of 0 & 1 and whether antiplatelet (vs anticoagulant) therapy is enough. I tend to err on the side of caution and never take medical advice from the huffington post over medical websites.


http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001925.pub2/abstract;jsessionid=1913AD5A4BE295528D9EE2F02AB9F662.d03t04

Antiplatelet therapy for preventing stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and no previous history of stroke or transient ischemic attacks
Antiplatelet agents like aspirin are effective for preventing serious vascular events in patients with atrial fibrillation not suitable for oral anticoagulants. Atrial fibrillation is an irregularity of the heartbeat that leads to blood clots forming in the upper chambers of the heart (the atria). These clots can break free and travel through the bloodstream to the brain and cause a stroke. Drugs that slow clotting, such as antiplatelet agents (aspirin and others) and anticoagulants reduce the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. In this review the benefits of antiplatelet agents are shown to be modest (nearly 25% decrease in stroke), but they are relatively safe, easy to take, and therefore an important treatment option for many atrial fibrillation patients. Anticoagulation with warfarin and related drugs offers more protection against stroke (nearly two-thirds reduction), but anticoagulant drugs can cause severe bleeding and require careful regulation with regular blood tests. The choice of antiplatelet drugs versus anticoagulants should be individualized based on the patient's inherent risk of stroke, ability to tolerate anticoagulation without bleeding, access to adequate anticoagulation monitoring, and patient preferences.

2)

500%

I couldn't click on that, but untreated, afibbers have "UP TO" 5 times the risk (500%) of having a stroke. That would be for really old people with heart disease and the CHADS score stuff. But to put it in perspective, if the average person's stroke risk is .5% per year, 5 times that amount is 2.5% a year IF YOU AREN'T ANTICOAGULATED.

I hate when they play with numbers and don't show the range for afibbers which is more like .5% to 10% per year UNCOAGULATED and the 10% is for people with high CHADS scores (CHA2DS2VaSC).

Apparently you missed the fact that the Huffington Post article was written by an MD.

Actually I did notice he is an MD and checked him out:

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Amherst College, Dr. Paul Spector studied medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. After earning his medical degree, Dr. Paul Spector completed a transitional internship at Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey. Dr. Paul Spector subsequently accepted a residency position in psychiatry at Columbia University. Following his residency, he continued his studies at the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research.


After completing his education and training, Dr. Paul Spector opened a private practice in psychiatry. One of his interests was the psychological effects of disease and the feelings of helplessness patients experience when confronted by both illness and the baffling complexity of the health care system. Dr. Paul Spector devoted himself to helping patients find the best medical practitioners and developed an expertise in the art of referral. Dr. Paul Spector subsequently closed his private practice and founded Pantheon Medicine, a medical advisory organization based out of New York City that is dedicated to helping people navigate the health care system. As Director of Pantheon Medicine, Dr. Paul Spector creates electronic medical records to consolidate patient information such as medication and immunization history, allergies, doctor contacts, and lab results. These records minimize the risk of unnecessary testing, medication errors, and delays in treatment. Additionally, Dr. Paul Spector provides research to help clients weigh different treatment options and become active members of their treatment team.


Dr. Paul Spector holds certification in psychiatry from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc. Furthermore, Dr. Paul Spector received certification as a Health Fitness Specialist from the American College of Sports Medicine and now acts as an active member of the organization. Deeply concerned about the impact of modern diets on health, Dr. Paul Spector volunteers and provides financial contributions to City Harvest, Inc., a 35-year-old food rescue organization that feeds more than 300,000 New Yorkers weekly.


He's a psychiatrist and does health fitness. He doesn't practice and was never a cardiologiist or electrophysiologist. With all due respect... I still don't think he is who I would listen to him over someone that practices cardiology or electrophysiology.