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


pradaxa_logo 150 pix 96 res

One of the new NOACs for stroke risk in A-Fib patients

Claim “Misguided” That Pradaxa Needs No Blood-Level Monitoring

According to Dr. Thomas J. Moore, senior scientist at the Institute for Safe Medical Practices, the claim that Pradaxa needs no blood-level monitoring is “misguided.” “It turns out the company has had data for several years, showing the amount of anticoagulation varied [from patient to patient] more than five-fold.” The same dose could produce an extremely high risk of bleeding in some patients, while others wouldn’t get a strong enough blood clotting effect.

PRADAXA NOT SAFE TO USE WITHOUT MONITORING PLASMA LEVELS

In an editorial in BMJ, Dr. Rita Redberg, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco wrote, “The concerns are that Pradaxa was approved on the basis that it did not require monitoring. There is now new evidence…suggesting it is not safe to use it without monitoring, particularly in the elderly and those with kidney disease. The bleeding risk is higher than we first thought, and the effectiveness is basically equivalent to warfarin.”

The researchers said that up to 40% of all deaths and serious bleeding events related to Pradaxa could have been avoided by simple blood testing.

BOEHRINGER-INGELHEIM WITHHELD DATA ON PRADAXA

According to several articles in the British Medical Journal, “Boehringer-Ingelheim withheld important data from regulators regarding the safety of Pradaxa as the drug was under review for approval…The company didn’t share its own analysis…suggesting a steep drop in bleeding risk when Pradaxa was dosed with guidance from plasma-level monitoring.”

In an article by ABC News: “A scientific study…suggests the makers of Pradaxa may have held back information that may have prevented serious bleeding complications among some of the million or so Americans using it.” This would have undermined the key marketing message that no such monitoring is needed, as there is for INR monitoring for warfarin.

Pradaxa (dabigatran by Boehringer-Ingelheim) has been associated with tragic bleeding deaths (see Stop Prescribing or Taking Pradaxa: Suspect in 542 Patient Deaths and Pradaxa Litigation Update May 2014)

 “Anticoagulation treatment for people with A-Fib ranks as one of the highest risk treatments in older Americans.”

Editor’s Comments:
The average Cardiologist prescribing Pradaxa isn’t prepared to (or even interested in) monitoring plasma levels of Pradaxa. They don’t know what exactly the correct level is. But, as Dr. Thomas Moore above states, “Anticoagulation treatment for people with A-Fib ranks as one of the highest risk treatment in older Americans…More than 15% of older patients treated with blood thinners for one year have bleeding.” 
This is yet another reason to stay away from Pradaxa. If your doctor prescribes Pradaxa, get them to switch to Eliquis (which tested the best and is the safest new anticoagulant), Xarelto or go back to warfarin. If not, then find another doctor. (Thanks to Barry Schwartz for calling our attention to these articles.)

REFERENCES:

Stiles, Steve. BMJ Reports Blast Pradaxa’s Path to Market, Make Push for Dose Monitoring. Medscape. July 23, 2014. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/828750

Doheney, Kathleen. Blood-Thinner Pradaxa: What You Should Know. WebMD Health News July 25, 2014. http://www.webmd.com/stroke/news/20140725/blood-thinner-pradaxa

Kamath, Suneel. Report Raises Safety Question on Popular Blood Thinner. ABC News. July 25, 2014. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2014/07/25/report-raises-safety-questions-on-popular-blood-thinner/

Must-read: marketing vs. medicine in the case of Pradaxa (dabigatran). The Poison Review. July 27, 2014. http://www.thepoisonreview.com/2014/07/27/must-read-marketing-vs-medicine-in-the-case-of-pradaxa-dabigatran

Mandrola, J. Getting the dabigatran (Pradaxa) story right… Correcting four common mistakes. August 21, 2014 

 

 

Follow Us
facebook - A-Fib.comtwitter - A-Fib.comlinkedin - A-Fib.compinterest - A-Fib.comYouTube: A-Fib Can be Cured! - A-Fib.com

We Need You Help A-Fib.com be self-supporting-Use our link to Amazon  

A-Fib.com is a
501(c)(3) Nonprofit



Your support is needed. Every donation helps, even just $1.00.



A-Fib.com top rated by Healthline.com since 2014 

Home | The A-Fib Coach | Help Support A-Fib.com | A-Fib News Archive | Tell Us What You think | Press Room | GuideStar Seal | HON certification | Disclosures | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy