Eyes on advanced care: Lutheran now performs Watchman

A-fib patients who live on Denver’s west side now can stay close to home and still receive the most advanced surgical treatment for preventing blood clots and lowering their risk of stroke.

Starting in September, Lutheran began performing a procedure called the Watchman – the placement of an implant that permanently closes the left atrial appendage and prevents blood clots from entering the blood stream, reducing the risk of stroke without anticoagulants and helping patients avoid a lifetime of taking blood thinners.

An estimated seven million Americans are affected by atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart beat that can cause blood clots, and most are prescribed a blood thinner to lower their risk of stroke. But blood thinners also carry risks, including a higher risk of bleeding.

The Watchman has proved to be equally effective to blood thinners in avoiding stroke, without the side effects that long-term use of blood thinners can cause.

Bo Finta, MD, Cardiovascular Disease, performs the implant procedure at Lutheran, and Asher Shafton, MD, Cardiovascular Disease, is among the physicians who guides the placement of the implant via a transesophageal echocardiogram. Before launching the program at Lutheran, this team had been performing the Watchman at Saint Joseph Hospital, which this summer celebrated its 500th Watchman procedure.

“The success of this procedure and increasing patient interest in avoiding a lifetime of blood thinners has elevated volumes to the point that we can now offer this procedure at Lutheran, too,” Shafton said. “By offering the Watchman on the west side of town, we’re easing patient access and improving patient satisfaction.”

The Watchman is implanted in a single procedure that takes about an hour to perform. An overnight stay is usually required.

Good candidates are those with A-fib who have had bleeding complications from their blood thinners, as well as those with physically demanding jobs or who engage in activities that put them at high risk for injuries that cause bleeding. Patients who have difficulty tolerating anticoagulants also can be good candidates.

“The first two months of Watchman procedures at Lutheran have gone great,” Shafton said. “We’re proud to offer this procedure to those who need it and those whose quality of life can be improved by it, right here in this community.”

Physicians with questions about the Watchman procedure can contact Finta via email at bohuslav.finta@imail.org or Shafton via email at asher.shafton@imail.org.