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

Update->FAQs Coping with A-Fib Stroke: What Your Family Should Learn Now

FAQs Coping with A-Fib: Stroke Action Plan

“In case I have an A-Fib-related stroke, what does my family need to know to help me? (I’m already on a blood thinner.) What can I do to improve my odds of surviving it?

Stroke is the most dreaded effect of having A-Fib. And an A-Fib-related stroke is usually worse because the clots tends to be larger. They often result in death or permanent disability.

Here are some basic facts and steps you and your family can take to prepare for and what to do if stroke strikes any member of your family.

Prepare Your Plan: The 4 Steps

For your own and your family’s peace of mind, you need to create a ‘Stroke Action Plan’.

Step 1: Learn the Signs of a Stroke

Make it a family affair. Discuss the most common signs of stroke: sudden weakness of the face, arm or leg, most often on one side of the body. Stroke may be associated with a headache, or may be completely painless. Each person may have different stroke warning signs.

Step 2―Ask Your Doctor

Discuss with your doctor what actions to take in case of stroke. For example, some doctors recommend aspirin to help avoid a second ischemic stroke (A-Fib). If so, ask what dosage.

Step 3―Locate Your Nearest ‘Certified Stroke Center’

Why a Certified Stroke Center? If a stroke victim gets to a Certified Stroke Center within four hours, there is a good chance specialists can dissolve the clot without any lasting damage.

Only a fraction of the 5,800 acute-care hospitals in the U.S are certified as providing state-of-the-art stroke care.

A certified or ‘Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center’ is typically the largest and best-equipped hospital in a given geographical area that can treat any kind of stroke or stroke complication.

A Certified Stroke Center will have drugs such as Tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA) to dissolve the clot. Can use Clopidogrel or acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) to stop platelets from clumping together to form clots. Or use anticoagulants to keep existing blood clots from getting larger.

So do your homework. To find the nearest certified or ‘Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center’ check these listings:

• Find A Certified U.S. Stroke Center Near You/NPR News
• Find a Certified Comprehensive Stroke Center

Step 4―Post Your ‘Stroke Action Plan’

Write up the three components of your plan (i.e., the signs of stroke, aspirin dosage and location of the nearest Certified Stroke Center).

What about your workplace? Locate the nearest Certified Stroke Center to your job, too, and post a copy.

Also, print handouts with the name and address of the nearest Certified Stroke Center (Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center) for EMS responders. Keep a bottle of aspirin nearby.

Store your ‘Stroke Action Plan’ in a special binder or post so that family can easily find the information.

If a Stroke Strikes: Work the Plan

1. Immediately call your emergency medical services (EMS)―even if the person having the stroke doesn’t want you to. (e.g., 911 in US and Canada, 0000 in Australia, 999 in the UK.)

Note: DO NOT try to diagnose the problem by yourself, and DO NOT wait to see if the symptoms go away on their own.

2. While waiting for EMS, administer aspirin in the proper dosage (if advised by your doctor beforehand) to help avoid a second stroke.

Note: The emergency operator might connect you to a hospital that gives you instructions based on symptoms.

3. When EMS arrives, tell them to take the patient to your nearest Certified Stroke Center (give them a handout with the name and address).

Note: If necessary, be firm, insist they go to your choice of Certified Stroke Center. (Realize that some paramedics and ambulance services have side deals with hospitals to take patients to their hospitals, even if it’s not the right hospital for stroke victims.)

The Wrap Up

A ‘Stroke Action Plan’ with specific steps is reassuring during a medical emergency and helps everyone stay calm. Your family will be confident they’re supporting you in taking the right action at the right time.

The only guarantee of not having an A-Fib stroke is to no longer have A-Fib.

Know that quickly going to a certified or ‘Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center’ may save you from the debilitating effects of an A-Fib stroke, or even death.

For additional reading, see Ablation Reduces Stroke Risk to that of a Normal Person.

References for this article

Chen ZM, et al. Indications for early aspirin use in acute ischemic stroke: A combined analysis of 40,000 randomized patients from the Chinese acute stroke trial and the international stroke trial. On behalf of the CAST and IST collaborative groups. Stroke. 2000 Jun;31(6):1240-9

Why Choose Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification. The Joint Commission. June 20, 2014. http://tinyurl.com/JC-comprehensive-stroke-ctr

Emergency Telephone Numbers Around the World. ChartBin.com URL: http://chartsbin.com/view/1983

Find A Certified U.S. Stroke Center Near You. NPR News. Updated October 29, 2015. URL: http://tinyurl.com/certified-stroke-center

Find a Certified Comprehensive Stroke Center: Search by US state. The Internet Stroke Center. URL: http://www.strokecenter.org/trials/centers/

Back to FAQs: Coping with Your A-Fib
Last updated: Wednesday, August 26, 2020