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The WATCHMAN™ Implant: What you need to know

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The WATCHMAN™ Implant: 10 Questions Answered

The WATCHMAN Implant can reduce your risk of stroke and eliminate your use of blood thinners if you have atrial fibrillation (AFib) not caused by a heart valve problem.

1. What is AFib?

It is a common type of heart arrhythmia that causes the heart to beat irregularly. It occurs when upper chambers of the heart (right and left atria) no longer contract in coordination.

2. What are the symptoms?

This can occur without symptoms or may make you feel tired, lightheaded, short of breath or a fluttering sensation in your chest.

3. Is AFib dangerous?

When your heart beats irregularly with AFib, it can lead to blood clots, especially in the left atrial appendage (LAA) of the heart. In this scenario, you are five times more likely to have a stroke than someone with a regular heartbeat. Although blood thinners can reduce your risk of stroke, medications create other dangers, including bleeding. Other factors that increase stroke risk include ages 75 and up, high blood pressure, heart failure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and prior stroke.

4. How does WATCHMAN help?

The WATCHMAN Implant prevents blood clots in the LAA by closing it. The LAA is where 90% of stroke-causing blood clots come from in the heart.

5. Is WATCHMAN safe?

Over 300,000 people worldwide have received the WATCHMAN Implant. It is the only implant of its kind approved by the FDA. With all medical procedures, there are risks associated with the implant procedure and the use of the device. Talk to your doctor, so you thoroughly understand all of the risks and benefits associated with the WATCHMAN Implant.

6. What are typical results?

You may be able to stop using blood thinners 45 days after your implant. After one year, 99% of patients discontinued using blood thinners.

7. What happens during the procedure?

During this one-time, minimally invasive procedure, a narrow tube is inserted into a blood vessel in your upper leg and goes to your LAA. The WATCHMAN is inserted through the tube until it reaches the LAA, where it unfolds like an umbrella. A thin layer of tissue will grow over the surface of the implant within about 45 days.

General anesthesia is used, so you are asleep during the procedure.

8. How long will I be in the hospital?

You will likely return home the day after the procedure.

9. What happens after the procedure?

Your medications will be reevaluated with a goal to discontinue blood thinners within six months.

10. Who performs the procedure?

Trained and experienced physicians, Kinan Kassar, M.D., interventional cardiologist, and Shaun Bhatty, M.D., electrophysiologist, who are both part of the Genesis Heart & Vascular Group.

Make an appointment

Talk to your doctor to determine if the WATCHMAN Implant is right for you.

 

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Monarch Robotic-assisted Bronchoscopy

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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The disease hides in the lungs and usually does not show symptoms until it is too late. That changes now.

Watch Dr. Adamo Explain the Monarch Robotic-assisted Bronchoscopy System

 

Diagnosing lung cancer earlier and more accurately saves lives

Listen to Emily Brawner describe the Monarch Robotic-assisted Bronchoscopy System on the Sounds of Good Health with Genesis Podcast

Listen now

As part of our commitment to provide the best care, we have invested in innovative technology to overcome the traits that make lung cancer so deadly.

The revolutionary Monarch Robotic-assisted Bronchoscopy has a flexible tube, 3D camera and precision control. With Monarch, our doctors can search for cancer in a maze of passageways. When something suspicious is located, they can take biopsies that were previously unreachable without surgery. The results are earlier and more accurate diagnosis than ever before.

Additionally, since it is minimally invasive, patients go home the same day of the procedure.

Patient Shelly

"When I learned about that spot on my lung, I felt devastated. I wanted the best and quickest help I could get, and that’s what I received at Genesis,” Shelly said.

To learn what the biopsy revealed, and how Genesis provided Shelly with the highest of quality care, click here.

Comprehensive Care

The Monarch Robotic-assisted Bronchoscopy is one of the many resources we use to keep you healthy. Along with the latest technology and our low dose CT screening program, our pulmonary doctors partner with specialists to ensure you receive the best treatment for your specific situation now and in the future.

James Adamo, M.D., F.C.C.P, Fellowship-trained and Board-certified Pulmonologist, Emily Brawner, D.O., F.C.C.P., Fellowship-trained and Board-certified Pulmonologist and Dany Said Abou Abdallah, M.D., Fellowship-trained and Board-certified Pulmonologist are our trained and experienced physicians who perform the Monarch Robotic-assisted bronchoscopy.

Call 740-586-6888 to learn more and find out if the Monarch procedure is appropriate for you.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The disease hides in the lungs and usually does not show symptoms until it is too late. That changes now.

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MitraClip™ Implant: What you need to know

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MitraClip™ Implant Questions and Answers

1. What is mitral valve regurgitation?

a. This occurs when the mitral valve flap in your heart does not work correctly, allowing blood to leak backwards into the heart.

2. Are there symptoms?

a. You may be symptom free, or suffer from one or more of the following including a mild cough, lightheadedness, fatigue, shortness of breath that increases with activity and lying down or rapid heartbeat.

3. Is mitral valve regurgitation dangerous?

a. There are two main forms of mitral regurgitation, classified based on the underlying cause:

  1. Primary (Degenerative) Mitral Regurgitation

    -This form is caused by structural abnormalities of the mitral valve itself, such as damage to the valve leaflets, chordae tendineae, or annulus.

    -Common causes include mitral valve prolapse, rheumatic heart disease, or infective endocarditis.

    -It is often referred to as degenerative mitral regurgitation

  2. Secondary (Functional) Mitral Regurgitation

    -In this type, the mitral valve is structurally normal, but problems with the left ventricle or atrium—such as dilation or dysfunction—prevent the valve from closing properly.

4. Who are candidates for MitraClip?

a. MitraClip can help, if you have degenerative mitral regurgitation and are considered high risk for surgery. MitraClip is a solution for functional mitral disease if treatments did not help.

5. What happens during the procedure?

a. The MitraClip implant is a one time, minimally invasive procedure. The implant is inserted through a vein in your upper leg and guided to your heart, where it is attached to your mitral valve.

General anesthesia is used so you will be asleep during the procedure.

6. How does MitraClip help?

a. After the MitraClip is attached to the malfunctioning mitral valve in your heart, it will help the valve to close properly and restore normal blood flow through the heart.

7. What happens after the procedure?

a. You will stay in the hospital for one to three days. After the implant, you will take a blood thinner and aspirin. A checkup will occur in 30 days and at one year.

8. Who is on the procedure team?

a. A trained and experienced team of physicians make up the MitraClip team. The team includes Kinan Kassar, M.D., Interventional Cardiologist, and Mahmoud Farhoud, M.D. Each of these physicians are part of the Genesis Heart & Vascular Group.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mitra Clip

MitraClip™ Implant Questions and Answers

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Advanced minimally invasive treatments tackle structural heart disease

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It's been said "it always seems impossible until it's done." This statement couldn't be truer for the advanced minimally invasive treatments used today for structural heart disease. As one of the most exciting and fastest growing fields in cardiovascular medicine, technological developments over the last decade have led to previously unthinkable procedures becoming a successful option for a wide range of patients with defects or disorders in their heart's structure.

Not all heart disease is the same

Eating healthy and exercising is important for preventing coronary heart disease, which is caused by plaque buildup in the arteries that can cause chest pain and even heart attack. But, structural heart disease is different.

A heart problem that is structural may be present at birth (congenital) causing conditions such as a hole within the chambers of the heart. Structural heart disease acquired through wear and tear due to aging and time can lead to a tight aortic valve (aortic stenosis), or a leaky heart valve (mitral valve regurgitation) causing some blood to leak backward through the valve.

For patients with severe aortic stenosis, or narrowing of the aortic valve, the only treatment option for the last 50 years has been open heart surgery. While open heart surgery may still be a solution for some patients, minimally invasive catheter-based therapies have made care easier, with fewer complications and quicker recoveries.

Minimally invasive evolution: TAVR

As the most common structural heart disease treated today, heart valve disease is being successfully managed with non-surgical minimally invasive procedures, including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). An increasingly-popular alternative to surgical repair, TAVR is a proven alternative to more traditional aortic valve surgery for both the medium or high-risk patient, and has more recently expanded as an option for those at lower risk. In 2024, over 100,000 Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) procedures were performed in the United States, continuing the upward trend in adoption of this minimally invasive treatment for aortic valve stenosis.

TAVR is a complete paradigm shift. Often completed through a tiny nick in the groin or a small cut in the neck, TAVR is performed by using a tube called a catheter and tools that fit inside the catheter. By putting the catheter into a blood vessel, we move it through the blood vessel into the heart.

The catheter holds a new artificial valve, which is then implanted or deployed into the damaged aortic valve. As the artificial valve expands it takes the place of the damaged valve. The TAVR procedure repairs the heart valve without removing the damaged valve.

After an average one or two day stay in the hospital, TAVR patients can resume normal activities within a week following the procedure. TAVR was initially approved for high-risk patients in poor health who weren't considered good candidates for traditional open-heart surgery. Now, essentially anyone who has symptomatic aortic valve stenosis is a candidate for TAVR.

Signs it's time to take steps for healing

While some people with aortic valve stenosis may not experience symptoms for many years, the disease has typically progressed to an advanced stage by the time mild to severe symptoms are noticed. A wide range of warning signs that may indicate severe narrowing of the valve and treatment is necessary, include:

  • Abnormal heart sound (heart murmur) heard through a stethoscope
  • Chest pain (angina) or tightness with activity
  • Feeling faint or dizzy or fainting with activity
  • Shortness of breath, especially when after being active
  • Fatigue, especially during times of increased activity
  • Heart palpitations (sensations of a rapid, fluttering heartbeat)

Aortic valve stenosis may also lead to heart failure, with signs and symptoms of heart failure include fatigue, shortness of breath and swollen ankles and feet.

Studies show that 50% of patients who don't receive a valve replacement are unlikely to survive more than an average of two years after symptoms begin,. While the procedure isn't without its risks, including bleeding problems and stroke, any patient who has severe aortic stenosis should be considered for TAVR.

Ready to take the next step in your journey?

Make an appointment to see how Genesis HealthCare System can help

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Beyond TAVR: MitraClip

As TAVR evolves for treatment of aortic valve narrowing, technology is addressing another form of structural heart disease: mitral regurgitation or leaky heart valve. Known as the MitraClip™, the innovative transcatheter device has been used since 2013 to provide relief of leaky heart valve without the risk of conventional surgery.

Five years later, research showed transcatheter mitral valve repair with the MitraClip significantly reduces hospitalization and all-cause mortality compared with medical therapy alone. In patients with heart failure and moderate-to-severe or severe mitral regurgitation who continue to have symptoms despite optimal medical therapy, MitraClip is a successful treatment option. In addition, the FDA's broadened approval of the device supports MitraClip as an option for a broad range of patients with mitral regurgitation.

People who have abnormalities of the mitral valve can develop heart failure symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue and swelling in the legs — signs the valve is leaking severely.

A minimally invasive catheter-based procedure, MitraClip treats a severely leaking mitral valve by inserting the implant through a catheter inserted in a vein in the upper leg and guided to the heart. Once the implant (a clip) is attached to the mitral valve it can then close properly to restore normal blood flow.

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LiveWell archives

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