Watchman 750th Celebration

We’re celebrating another milestone at North Mississippi Medical Center’s Heart and Vascular Institute! Our team has now implanted more than 750 Watchman left atrial occlusion devices to prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation, a heart condition in which the upper chambers of the heart beat too fast. Because the heart’s upper chambers quiver instead of beating effectively, blood can stagnate and form clots in an area of the heart called the left atrial appendage. If a clot forms there, it can break loose and cause a stroke.

For years, the best treatment to prevent stoke in A-fib patients has been medication known as blood thinners like Warfarin, Eliquis, Xarelto or Pradaxa to prevent clots. While very effective, these medications can have side effects including gastrointestinal bleeding, brain bleeding, frequent falls and excessive bruising.

The Watchman is an alternative for patients for whom long-term use of these medications is problematic. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2015, the Watchman serves as a plug, sealing the left atrial appendage to keep larger blood clots from entering the bloodstream. During the procedure, a cardiac electrophysiologist guides the device into the heart through a catheter, or flexible tube, inserted through a vein in the groin. After placing the device, he releases it from the catheter to leave it permanently implanted in the heart. The procedure takes less than an hour in NMMC’s Electrophysiology Laboratory.

For more information about NMMC’s Heart and Vascular Institute, visit www.nmhs.net/heart-vascular.