Eliquis and Post Surgery Sail

[SV Someday Came]

I plan to hire a captain and crew to sail my boat from San Diego to San Francisco sometime in August; however, I very much want to go along as I have had precious little real sailing experience, and I have a fantastic boat. However, I am getting gentle pushback and reconsideration requests from people who care for me. Three years ago, I had nasty Atrial Filibration and had an ablation. I was put on Sotolol and Eliquis. After five months, no AFIB (it took a while to die down), and now, for a year, I have had zero signs of AFIB. I asked my doctor if I could get off Eliquis as I am pretty active in commuting to work on my bike regularly and am out and about. He recommended I have a Left Atrial Appendage Closure (LAA), and after the operation, within 6-8 months, I could be off of Eliquis. The plan is for me to have the operation in July, and he said, in all likelihood, I would go home the same day or the next at the latest. My main two concerns are risks associated with sailing soon after the procedure, and now folks (i.e., girlfriend) raised concerns about the potential dangers of a fall or a blow to the head while sailing on Eliquis, given the risk of a microtear in my brain that could lead to a stroke

I could ask my cardiologist, but I suspect he would say don’t go due to potential liability issues. That is most unfortunate, as it makes it hard to know what the “real risks” are. To be clear, I'm not looking for medical advice here but rather personal experiences or insights from those who might have been in, or are familiar with, similar situations. I am not an experienced sailor, but I usually can do what I am told, and am in decent cardio shape (not excellent, but better than average, according to doc.

Has anyone here continued sailing after similar procedures? How did you assess and manage the risks? Are head injuries all that common on such a trip? How could I mitigate my risk? Should I wear a helmet? Sounds comically insane, I know, but I really want to do this trip, and I now realize at 67 my life matters a bit more to me than it did when I was 50. As I make this decision, your thoughts and experiences would be invaluable.

I did read the entire thread "Sailing after Massive Stroke." As far as I know I have not had a stroke, but doc and I do think I might have had an ischemic attack in left prefrontal cortex. Dizzy and almost passed out -- my EEG shows definite slowing in the delta and theta range suggesting ischemia. I state this fact as the doc rates my possibility of stroke 2 maybe a 3 out of some scale I cannot recall.

Thank you in advance for sharing your insights.
michael

[JPA Cate]

Hello, Michael,

Do understand that different doctors have differing opinions, too. And many of them are not even sailors. You have to educate them for them to understand, and analogies --even fairly apt ones -- only go so far. There's also the point that no one can really quantify an unknown risk for someone else's future. We, the patients, also vary in our abilities to bounce back following injury: age, overall health, diet, financial resources for unusual treatments, being just some of the variables.

Anyhow, one CF member <ben johnson>, has given some members what I thought of as good advice. [ I am an old sailor, who's had more sailing miles than most, and more dealings with surgeons than most people, and a long time ago, I earned an MA degree. Told you this to help you evaluate my input, and explain why I can't take a stab at it. i don't understand the medical issues well enough.]

It's your life to spend, though, and I'd ask you to do your best to help your good lady friend understand.

Ann

[psk125]

Everyone is different. I was diagnosed with AFIB and had an ablation too, along with taking Eliquis and a bunch of other stuff. Doctors have put no conditions on my activities, including sailing, but the AFIB has returned and another ablation is scheduled in July. It would seem wise to talk with your doctor and heed his or her advice. It would certainly seem that sailing would be less stressful heart-wise than bicycling, though.