Posted by Murry on March 05, 2003 at 00:46:13:
In Reply to: Question for Carl and Jack posted by Sarah on March 04, 2003 at 23:50:09:
Sarah, it is my understanding that you have to be on blood thinners with an INR between 2.0 and 3.0 for at least three weeks before they will cardiovert you. However, if you have not been in afib for more than 48 hours they will do it without thinning your blood. In the case of an emergency they can perform a TEE, which is an ultrasound proceedure that will show if there are any clots in your heart. The biggest concern is that your heart will throw a clot when it gets back into NSR and the heart pumps more efficiently.