Do I need to stay on a blood thinner after my AF ablation?

If you are on a blood thinner (warfarin or a NOAC) before the ablation, my routine advice is to continue this after the ablation. This is because although a recurrence of AF may only last a few minutes and not be of any importance for your lifestyle, even a short episode could put you at risk of stroke.

Another reason to continue with the blood thinner is that the risk of a stroke in patients with AF isn’t only due to the AF. The disease in the heart and vessels that causes the scarring which triggers AF is only partially treated by ablation, and so far we don’t have proof that the risk of stroke returns to normal.

Our modern blood thinner medication is so safe, I want my patients at risk of stroke to stay safe even when they are now free of AF a procedure.