AMITA Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital issued the following announcement on Sept. 3.
AMITA Health is among the first healthcare providers in the Chicagoland area to bring a surgical alternative to medication for stroke reduction in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation with the WATCHMAN Left Atrial Appendage Closure (LAAC) device.
The transcatheter LAAC procedure with the WATCHMAN device was recently performed at AMITA Health Mercy Medical Center Aurora, AMITA Health Resurrection Medical Center Chicago and AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center Hinsdale.
The WATCHMAN device is the only FDA-approved implement proven to reduce stroke risk in people with atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem, mainly mitral valve stenosis. An estimated 5 million Americans are affected by atrial fibrillation, a heart condition which causes the upper chambers of the heart, the atrium, to beat too fast and with irregular rhythm. Twenty percent of all strokes occur in patients with atrial fibrillation and are often more frequently fatal and disabling.
The procedure was performed at AMITA Health Mercy Medical Center Aurora on Thursday, Aug. 6, by Dr. Siddharth Kakodkar, cardiac electrophysiologist, and Dr. Priyanka Pitroda, cardiologist. Also that day, cardiologists Dr. Anupama Shivaraju, Dr. Erica Engelstein and Dr. Imran Ali performed the procedure at AMITA Health Resurrection Medical Center Chicago.
Just a few days later, on Tuesday, Aug. 11, Dr. Andrew Lawrence, electrophysiologist, and Dr. Keenan Adib, interventional cardiologist, performed the implant procedure at AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center Hinsdale.
All were successful, and the patients are recovering at home.
“This innovative procedure offers patients an alternative to long-term medication,” said Dr. Kakodkar. “Patients with atrial fibrillation are at a significantly greater risk of having a stroke due to clotting formed in the left atrial appendage.”
The WATCHMAN Implant, which has been implanted in more than 100,000 patients worldwide, closes off an area of the heart called the left atrial appendage to keep harmful blood clots that can form from entering the blood stream and potentially causing a stroke. By closing off the area, the risk of stroke may be reduced, and over time, patients may be able to stop taking their anticoagulant medication.
“The WATCHMAN device is not visible outside the body in a one-time procedure,” said Dr. Lawrence. “This is performed under general anesthesia in a cardiac catheterization laboratory.”
The procedure lasts about an hour and the patient is typically in the hospital overnight, he said.
For patients who aren’t able to safely take blood thinners, either because they’re unable to tolerate them or they have a history of bleeding, the WATCHMAN implant can make a big difference in their lives,” said Dr. Kakodkar.
For more information, visit www.amitahealth.org/heartbeat or www.watchman.com.
Original source can be found here.
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