Originally Posted by cbhungry

Came onto to this late.

First of all, atrial fibrillation confers a five fold increase in risk of stroke and studies with other blood thinners, including asprin, just don't hold up when compared to the efficacy of coumadin. With that said, it is a difficult and dangerous drug and must be monitored carefully on a monthly basis and is affected by vit k rich foods. However, should you have to stay on a blood thinner (if the cardioversion does not work) there is another alternative that has been out in europe for a long time and is making its way here. http://www.drugdevelopment-technolog...ojects/exanta/

Exanta does not need the monthly monitoring and is not affected by vit k rich foods. Thus, it is not prone to flucuations that are inherent to a drug such as coumadin since it is a direct thrombin inhibitor. It has been well studied in atrial fibrillation and stroke prevention.