Lower Your Risk of Stroke and Say Goodbye to Your Meds

Dr. Vincent Varghese, Interventional Radiologist at Deborah and Robin Stoloff. Check out the video of the Watchman Procedure

A new FDA approved option for people to help you get off blood thinners is finally here. If you are on blood thinning medicine for atrial fibrillation or a-fib, you have a greater risk for blood clots and strokes. This implant, called Watchman, helps you reduce that risk and hopefully gets you off your medication.

A-fib, or irregular heartbeat, is a common condition that is linked to an increase in blood clots and stroke.  Almost all clots are formed in a little pouch on the left atrial of the heart.  The  Watchman is a device that sits inside that little pouch and closes it off so there is less chance for a clot to form.

This procedure, just approved by the FDA this spring, typically takes less than an hour and is less invasive than previous procedures.  Doctors use a catheter through a vein in your groin, which leads to your heart to insert the Watchman, With a lower risk of blood clots and stroke, many patients are able to go off their blood thinning medications, eliminating the side effects that go with them.