A FIB AND OVCA

Poor lady

Are you an old fart with a non-standard heart?  Well, I am.  I “suffer” from atrial fibrillation (a fib, to most of us.)  I use the “ thing because, in my case, there is no “suffering” involved; apparently I go in and out of a fib episodes, but I never detect the difference.  Not so many folks; for some, an a fib episode pole axes them to a state of non-functionality.  I guess I’m lucky.

Well, if you do have a fib, you probably take some kind of blood thinner.  I take warfarin, which is the most common prescribed.  After a little trial-and-error groping my med team has found a regimen that keeps my blood in the Goldilocks zone; not too thin (you die of internal bleeding) nor too thick (you die from a blood clot.)  I get checked every six weeks or so.

It turns out that a gene scan can make getting the right warfarin dose quicker and more precise.  Apparently the people in white coats, by means of a clinical trial, have established that the functionality of certain genes affects proper dosage.  Good, I guess.  What truly is good is that they say that such a gene scan should cost only about $200.  Hell, my checkups – involving a pharmacy tech, one drop of blood, five minutes and a $19.94 machine – cost almost that!

Maybe gene scans will get cheap enough so that ALL FEMALE BABIES can be tested for bad genes at birth.  And the same scan can be had periodically throughout life, like mammograms. 

      

Devoutly to be wished for.

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/genetic-testing-improves-blood-thinner-dosing