As we celebrate Valentine’s Day and American Heart Health Month, I want to talk about my heart—not just in the metaphorical sense, but in a very real, personal way.
There is little or no research on menopause women. Its all guess work. Everything they say is made up. Even the drugs they push are not tested on women.
I never take heart health for granted, but it scares me to delve into researching it further in post-menopausal state. I have a less than stellar doctor sho does not believe in testing much of anything. I have these weird tinges in my heart and of course after telling him his response was "it's part of agin" which what his standard response is to all my concerns. The thing is, is that not everything is natural aging. As someone recently stated, it's the innocuous symptoms we must pay attention to. I'm guilty as charged in letting things go. I'm in the process of finding a new doctor, but living there in the middle of nowhere has its challenges. Great writing, but I "felt" that article with every word read, so you did your job beautifully. Scary stuff.
You always have such insightful comments Patti. I appreciate you sharing them. Good doctors are hard to find, but it’s worth looking for one. My regular cardiologist is above average, but by no means ideal. One good thing is he doesn’t push meds. He knows that I prefer the natural approach whenever possible and he respects my views. That counts for a lot, and it beats the alternative where the doctor yells at me or fires me because I won’t agree to take some medicine, which has happened. It’s such a complicated situation and medicine has become an industry. The days of the caring family doctor are gone for good I’m afraid. I hope you find someone who is at least willing to do some of the more definitive testing. I wrote an article in Sixty and Me this month about that very issue.
I read your article on Sixty and Me, I forgot to mention it to you. The problem with finding a good doctor for me, is that I live in an area where there are few choices. I have to travel at least 43 miles one way to find doctors at all, and specialists are an entirely different issue. I'm campaigning moving soon, and it's a huge reason for doing so.
Daria, Thank you for the excellent podcast about your journey with afib. Would you be willing to share the name of the doctor who performed your successful ablation and/or the name of the medical facility where you had the ablation and Watchman procedure done? That information would be invaluable! Thank you, Kathy Campbell
Hi Kathy. Thank you. I'm glad you found this post helpful. The doctor who performed my ablation and Watchman procedures is Dr. Andrea Natale at The Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute in Austin, Texas. There is also a Dr. Sangentelli at the Cleveland Clinic, who trained under Dr. Natale and who I've heard very good things about. Both are highly skilled electrophysiologists. Let me know via DM if you have any other questions.
I too developed persistent atrial fibrillation and am having my first ablation tomorrow. I have resisted the Watchman because of some research questioning its safety. I’m so glad yours is successful! Question for you: are you off all heart-related meds now? That’s where I’d like to be, but I’m certain I’m older than you and that perhaps matters. Thank you so much for posting your experiences!
Best wishes for a successful ablation tomorrow. I did a lot of research on the Watchman before I went that route. The same doctor who performed my ablations also placed my Watchman. My research found that the skill of the doctor makes all the difference--which is also the case with ablations for complex cases like mine was. The only med I take is 12.5 mg once a day of metoprolol. I don't even have so much as an irregular blip, and the 12.5 mg is such a small dose that I don't find has any ill affects. My doctor told me that I could quit taking it, but everything works so well that I don't want to rock the boat. DM me if you'd like. I hope you do well with your ablation, and I'd like to know how you're doing. I'll think positive thoughts for you tomorrow Gail!
I totally get what you went through as I have Afib. I had a stroke and heart attack in August, 2023 from Afib. Fortunately I got to the ER in time and was able to make a full recovery. I did have to learn to walk again and spent 3 days in the hospital. Elliquis and metropolol (a medicine that slows the heartbeat to a manageable pace) are my constant companions. At some point, I will probably have to have some more serious medical intervention, but I am grateful for every day of life at present.
I'm so happy that you've made a recovery from your stroke Jane. AFib is a terrible affliction. I'm glad that the metropolol is working for you, and I hope that it continues to work. There are a couple of internet forums for afibbers. They can be very helpful, and many of the people who administer them and post regularly are very knowledgeable about afib and the various treatments and protocols. You've got a wonderful attitude and outlook.
Thank you for sharing that, Daria. It's good to know all the things that can go wrong with our health and what to do about it, while we're fit and well. It's great that you're back in good shape now.
It’s something I’m grateful for every day! One aspect that was particularly hard for me to deal with was the inability to control it or fix it myself. My way of finally taking control was to realize that this was one situation where I needed serious medical intervention.
There is little or no research on menopause women. Its all guess work. Everything they say is made up. Even the drugs they push are not tested on women.
I never take heart health for granted, but it scares me to delve into researching it further in post-menopausal state. I have a less than stellar doctor sho does not believe in testing much of anything. I have these weird tinges in my heart and of course after telling him his response was "it's part of agin" which what his standard response is to all my concerns. The thing is, is that not everything is natural aging. As someone recently stated, it's the innocuous symptoms we must pay attention to. I'm guilty as charged in letting things go. I'm in the process of finding a new doctor, but living there in the middle of nowhere has its challenges. Great writing, but I "felt" that article with every word read, so you did your job beautifully. Scary stuff.
You always have such insightful comments Patti. I appreciate you sharing them. Good doctors are hard to find, but it’s worth looking for one. My regular cardiologist is above average, but by no means ideal. One good thing is he doesn’t push meds. He knows that I prefer the natural approach whenever possible and he respects my views. That counts for a lot, and it beats the alternative where the doctor yells at me or fires me because I won’t agree to take some medicine, which has happened. It’s such a complicated situation and medicine has become an industry. The days of the caring family doctor are gone for good I’m afraid. I hope you find someone who is at least willing to do some of the more definitive testing. I wrote an article in Sixty and Me this month about that very issue.
I read your article on Sixty and Me, I forgot to mention it to you. The problem with finding a good doctor for me, is that I live in an area where there are few choices. I have to travel at least 43 miles one way to find doctors at all, and specialists are an entirely different issue. I'm campaigning moving soon, and it's a huge reason for doing so.
Daria, Thank you for the excellent podcast about your journey with afib. Would you be willing to share the name of the doctor who performed your successful ablation and/or the name of the medical facility where you had the ablation and Watchman procedure done? That information would be invaluable! Thank you, Kathy Campbell
Hi Kathy. Thank you. I'm glad you found this post helpful. The doctor who performed my ablation and Watchman procedures is Dr. Andrea Natale at The Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute in Austin, Texas. There is also a Dr. Sangentelli at the Cleveland Clinic, who trained under Dr. Natale and who I've heard very good things about. Both are highly skilled electrophysiologists. Let me know via DM if you have any other questions.
I too developed persistent atrial fibrillation and am having my first ablation tomorrow. I have resisted the Watchman because of some research questioning its safety. I’m so glad yours is successful! Question for you: are you off all heart-related meds now? That’s where I’d like to be, but I’m certain I’m older than you and that perhaps matters. Thank you so much for posting your experiences!
Best wishes for a successful ablation tomorrow. I did a lot of research on the Watchman before I went that route. The same doctor who performed my ablations also placed my Watchman. My research found that the skill of the doctor makes all the difference--which is also the case with ablations for complex cases like mine was. The only med I take is 12.5 mg once a day of metoprolol. I don't even have so much as an irregular blip, and the 12.5 mg is such a small dose that I don't find has any ill affects. My doctor told me that I could quit taking it, but everything works so well that I don't want to rock the boat. DM me if you'd like. I hope you do well with your ablation, and I'd like to know how you're doing. I'll think positive thoughts for you tomorrow Gail!
Thank you again!
I totally get what you went through as I have Afib. I had a stroke and heart attack in August, 2023 from Afib. Fortunately I got to the ER in time and was able to make a full recovery. I did have to learn to walk again and spent 3 days in the hospital. Elliquis and metropolol (a medicine that slows the heartbeat to a manageable pace) are my constant companions. At some point, I will probably have to have some more serious medical intervention, but I am grateful for every day of life at present.
I'm so happy that you've made a recovery from your stroke Jane. AFib is a terrible affliction. I'm glad that the metropolol is working for you, and I hope that it continues to work. There are a couple of internet forums for afibbers. They can be very helpful, and many of the people who administer them and post regularly are very knowledgeable about afib and the various treatments and protocols. You've got a wonderful attitude and outlook.
https://www.stopafib.org/
https://www.afibbers.org/forum/list.php?9
Thank you for sharing that, Daria. It's good to know all the things that can go wrong with our health and what to do about it, while we're fit and well. It's great that you're back in good shape now.
It’s something I’m grateful for every day! One aspect that was particularly hard for me to deal with was the inability to control it or fix it myself. My way of finally taking control was to realize that this was one situation where I needed serious medical intervention.