From the category archives:

Cardiac Surgery & Treatments

Are You Just A Hysterical Female? The Emotional Toll of Atrial Fibrillation

December 11, 2007

Fear is common for heart disease survivors, but for women diagnosed with atrial fibrillation the fear can be overwhelming.
“You are scared, your family is scared, and you just don’t know if something else is going to happen,” explains Mellanie True Hills, founder of the American Foundation for Women’s Health and the atrial fibrillation patient resource [...]

Read the full article →

Exploring Other Options: Catheter and Surgical Ablation

December 11, 2007

Medication cannot cure atrial fibrillation. For those looking for a cure, Mellanie True Hills, Founder of the American Foundation for Women’s Health and the patient’s resource StopAfib.org, suggest discussing the following options with your doctor. (Information courtesy of StopAfib.org)
Catheter Ablation is done by an electrophysiologist (a cardiologist specializing in heart rhythms) in [...]

Read the full article →

Go Buy A New Bra! … and other things a woman should do before a surgical ablation

December 11, 2007

So you’ve scheduled a surgical ablation to cure your atrial fibrillation, but do you know how to best prepare for the procedure?
Make time to do the following things before your surgery:
Go Buy A New Bra.
In fact, go buy a few.  You will want to wash them often to be sure you are keeping your incision(s) [...]

Read the full article →

Exporing the “Icky Period” Problem

August 27, 2007

When a younger woman is put on a blood thinner the doctor or nurse isn’t likely to tell her, “Guess what, this is probably going to make your period a bit of a challenge.  It came as a big surprise to me,” said Eliz Greene who is 42 and currently takes Plavix®.  “Talking about the [...]

Read the full article →

Goodbye, Blood Draw!

August 27, 2007

When she was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation and placed on the blood thinning medication warfarin, Patty Borkowski began regular trips to the Anticoagulation Clinic at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She didn’t realize her experience was different from that of other women on blood thinners.
A consistent and controlled blood thinner level is essential for [...]

Read the full article →