watch man

Watchman Device

by Gemita - 2021-07-31 08:31:47

Prettylady,

I do not know how much your doctor has told you about the risks of AF (Atrial Fibrillation), but it certainly increases our risk for a stroke, especially if we have risk factors, like older age, ischaemic heart disease, hypertension. diabetes and even being female.  Your doctor may have offered you the Watchman device instead of an anticoagulant, perhaps, because he feels you may be at risk of a serious bleed if you take an anticoagulant, so be guided by what your doctor tells you, if you trust him/her.

If you copy and paste the link below into your browser it will give you a fairly simple explanation of what the Watchman is and what it can do for you.  You will also find lots of You Tube videos online on the procedure if you wish to see what is involved. The Watchman is a device that blocks off a section of the heart where AF patients most often develop blood clots (left atrial appendage) to help prevent any blood clots from escaping into the blood stream and causing blockages, but the Watchman would not protect you from clots which might develop elsewhere.

As mentioned previously, the Watchman device can be helpful for patients who are unable to take an anticoagulant.  However, there are newer anticoagulants like Apixaban, Edoxaban, Dabigatran or Rivaroxaban which are very protective and require once or twice daily dosing.  They do not require frequent testing of blood to monitor your clotting levels and are not affected by what we eat as is the older anticoagulant, Warfarin, which needs frequent blood testing. 

Also remember that the Watchman device implant is a procedure and there are most definitely risks involved with any procedure especially in the months immediately following the device implant.  You will, in any event need to take Warfarin for a short period following the procedure, followed by antiplatelet meds like Aspirin and/or Clopidogrel for longer periods, perhaps even baby aspirin for life.  Personally unless there is a risk of a serious bleed on anticoagulants like Apixaban, I would think most patients might do well on twice daily dosing of an anticoagulant like Apixaban for AF stroke prevention, since it has a good safety record.  I would discuss all your options with your doctors Prettylady before you proceed.  Good luck

https://healthblog.uofmhealth.org/heart-health/watchman-vs-blood-thinners-alternatives-for-patients-nonvalvular-atrial-fibrillation

by the way

by new to pace.... - 2021-07-31 11:08:24

how did your stress test go? is that when you found out you had this new problem

new to pace