I've never heard of Coumadin being used to create a therapeutic level of anticoagulation in 24 hours. The protocol is usually coumadin for WEEKS prior to cardioversion- it simply does not work fast enough to be useful in that short a period of time, and drawing your blood every few hours just seems ridiculous. That drug usually takes DAYS. Much better choices exist to thin blood rapidly, and an ECHO to rule out clot would have been much simpler, especially if they thought they knew when the arrythmia started.

That management, at least as you've described it, sounds really bizarre. Maybe you SHOULD sue!

-G

ps. to answer your question, though, yes, placing a large bore IV would be easier, assuming it didn't clot off.

They advised me that it was Warfarin, and the A fib was already in its second day. The echo sounds very familiar. This is where my memory fades a little. I do remeber them telling me though, that they were going to do an Esophogeal Echocardiogram(spelling) when I was "out" and before the cardioversion just to make sure there were no colts that had accumalated in the atriums. I ma guessing they found none. Also, this may be of help, about a year before this they had put me on Ecotrin once a day to assist with another problem I had going on.

MAB32-

You sure they didn't use Heparin instead of coumadin?

That is it! Heparin! Thanks Sacamuelas!

I amm going to see this same cardiologist within the next four weeks. I am going to ask him if he wouldn't mind going back and reviewing that day. I don't think he would mind since I set some kind of record for the most versed given at that hospital. That record has probably been broken by far since then. This way he can refresh the missing "Links" of that day and the other meds he gave me. Jeez, I remember him telling the amount of joules he was going to use but cannot recall it now. All I remember is that they were two different progressive amounts.

When I get the answers from him I'll post them if anybody really wants to know?