News — A normal heartbeat should sound like the steady beat of a drum. But Christopher Masi’s heart beat was so erratic, it sounded like a drum, tambourine and trumpet - all playing at the same time.
Christopher is one of 2.5 million people in the United States suffering from Atrial fibrillation or AFib, the most common type of heart arrhythmia.
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) interferes with the heart’s electrical system, resulting in an irregular rhythm that prevents blood from flowing properly. When you have AFib, you may feel fatigued, short of breath, dizzy - the symptoms can be vague - if you have any at all. But your risk of having a stroke is increased by a whopping 500% - leaving patients like Christopher, to be walking time bombs. “In 2023, I actually suffered two mini strokes,” said the 79 year old of the temporary interruption of blood flow to his brain that caused some stroke-like symptoms, including blurry vision.
“I went to the eye doctor and he suggested I immediately see a cardiologist,” said Christoper, who had no idea he even had AFib until further testing was done.
While medications, most typically blood thinners, are often the first line of treatment for atrial fibrillation (AFib), they’re not always effective in controlling the condition. In some cases, like Christopher’s, patients are unable to tolerate the blood thinners. “In Christopher’s case, the medications caused him to bleed and resulted in the need for continuous bladder irrigation,” said Hackensack University Medical Center cardiologist, Dr. Sung-Han Yoon.
Typically, with patients, like Christopher, the traditional treatment alternative to blood thinners would have been a complex open heart surgery but today, as Dr. Yoon explained, there are so many more non-invasive options to treat AFib.
“We have so many more innovative treatments and the one most suitable for Christopher was the WATCHMAN device,” says Dr. Yoon. The WATCHMAN Left Atrial Appendage Closure (LAAC) Device placement is a first-of-its-kind, proven alternative to long-term blood thinner therapy to reduce the risk of stroke in patients with AFib.
Here’s how it works: A tiny umbrella-shaped device is permanently implanted in the atrium of the heart using a catheter (similar to an IV) that enters the groin so the cardiologist can thread the device up into the heart where it is set in place to permanently seal the opening of the atrium. The heart eventually covers it permanently with new tissue so there is no longer any place for a clot to form.
Patients receive conscious sedation during the hour-long procedure. Although full recovery time varies, patients generally return to normal life activities within a week. Christopher was back home on the same day of his procedure.
In fact, long-term follow-up studies of patients who underwent this ground-breaking procedure showed the WATCHMAN™ device implantation offered a similar stroke risk reduction and superior reductions of hemorrhagic stroke, disabling stroke and cardiovascular death compared to the blood-thinning medicine warfarin. Nearly all patients in the study were completely off blood thinners within a year.
Christopher went home just hours after his Watchman procedure and just a few days after having left the hospital he said he’s doing really well. “I’m grateful for the alternative treatment and it’s a relief to know my AFib is now under control.”
The first step to diagnose and treat AFib is with a cardiologist. To learn more about the comprehensive and advanced heart services available at Hackensack Meridian Health, visit HMHhasheart.com or call 844-HMH-WELL for a heart specialist.
For interview contact: [email protected].
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