Doctors & patients are saying about 'A-Fib.com'...

"A-Fib.com is a great web site for patients, that is unequaled by anything else out there."

Dr. Douglas L. Packer, MD, FHRS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

"Jill and I put you and your work in our prayers every night. What you do to help people through this [A-Fib] process is really incredible."

Jill and Steve Douglas, East Troy, WI

“I really appreciate all the information on your website as it allows me to be a better informed patient and to know what questions to ask my EP.

Faye Spencer, Boise, ID, April 2017

“I think your site has helped a lot of patients.”

Dr. Hugh G. Calkins, MD Johns Hopkins,
Baltimore, MD

Doctors & patients are saying about 'Beat Your A-Fib'...

"If I had [your book] 10 years ago, it would have saved me 8 years of hell.”

Roy Salmon, Patient, A-Fib Free,
Adelaide, Australia

"This book is incredibly complete and easy-to-understand for anybody. I certainly recommend it for patients who want to know more about atrial fibrillation than what they will learn from doctors...."

Pierre Jaïs, M.D. Professor of Cardiology, Haut-Lévêque Hospital, Bordeaux, France

"Dear Steve, I saw a patient this morning with your book [in hand] and highlights throughout. She loves it and finds it very useful to help her in dealing with atrial fibrillation."

Dr. Wilber Su,
Cavanaugh Heart Center, Phoenix, AZ

"...masterful. You managed to combine an encyclopedic compilation of information with the simplicity of presentation that enhances the delivery of the information to the reader. This is not an easy thing to do, but you have been very, very successful at it."

Ira David Levin, heart patient,
Rome, Italy

"Within the pages of Beat Your A-Fib, Dr. Steve Ryan, PhD, provides a comprehensive guide for persons seeking to find a cure for their Atrial Fibrillation."

Walter Kerwin, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

Anyone Hospital Bound at Major Risk for Thrombosis

Published October 13, 2015

To build awareness, this is World Thrombosis Day.

A thrombosis is a blood clot that forms within a blood vessel and can be carried by either a vein or an artery. If that clot breaks free, it can lodge in an artery, travel to the brain and result in a stroke.

Stroke risk: blood vessel blocked by clot

At A-Fib.com we write often about stroke risk due to Atrial Fibrillation (and the role of blood thinners to address that risk). A blood clot that forms as a result of A-Fib is an example of ‘arterial thromboembolism’.

A-Fib-related stroke can be particularly dangerous. Patients are twice as likely to be bedridden and more likely to die compared to patients with non-A-Fib-related stroke.

Anyone in the hospital is at major risk factor for developing a blood clot. Patients with decreased mobility or who experience blood vessel trauma due to surgery are more likely to develop blood clots.

If your loved one is being admitted to the hospital, proactively discuss their risk of stroke (i.e. venous thromboembolism or VTE ) with the hospital’s medical staff. Ask them for a VTE risk assessment to determine if they have any risk factors and whether they are at an increased chance of developing blood clots while in the hospital – or in the days or weeks after a hospital visit. Visit the World Thrombosis Day site.

Patients with A-Fib can use the CHADS2 & CHA2DS-VASc Stroke-Risk Grading Systems to access their stroke risk.