Dear Dr. Roach: I am struggling with a decision process due to a lack of consensus among various physicians. I was fortunate back in January at 66 years of age to survive bilateral pulmonary emboli with syncope when my wife successfully performed CPR. The underlying cause is undetermined as multiple tests have been negative.

I'm now on blood thinners (Eliquis), and I have one cardiologist who says that this must be the case for the rest of my life, while another disagrees. I had a hematologist say that it is not worth determining the root cause because blood thinners are the outcome regardless. Yet my long-time cardiologist disagrees and plans to refer me to a different hematologist.

My reading suggests that long-term blood thinner use is not favorable. Recent blood work with my general

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