By GREGORY ZELLER //
Who watches the Watchman?
The world-class cardiologists at the Stony Brook University Heart Institute, where the latest generation of the Watchman FLX device – designed to prevent patients with atrial fibrillation from suffering debilitating strokes – is now on the job.
The Heart Institute is one of the “select number” of New York State sites offering the new FDA-approved device, according to SBU, which is trumpeting the arrival of the innovative Boston Scientific Corp. product as a next-level advance.
The implantable “left atrial appendage closure device” takes the fight to AFib, an irregular heartbeat that’s not caused by a heart-valve problem and commonly leads to stroke.
A stroke occurs when the brain’s blood supply is interrupted or otherwise reduced, preventing brain tissue from receiving critical oxygen and necessary nutrients. The result: a loss of brain functions controlling speech, cognition and mobility, or worse.
The tiny device essentially sequesters the part of the heart where 90 percent of stroke-causing blood clots originate, keeping the blood flowing to the noggin and heading off possible strokes – better than blood-thinning medications, according to Boston Scientific and many cardiologists who’ve implanted the Watchman FLX.
Eric Rashba: Stroke of genius.
Blood-thinners, also known as anticoagulants, are the most common stroke-prevention strategy – but not necessarily the most effective, according to Eric Rashba, director of the SBHI’s Heart Rhythm Center.
“Some (patients) experience bleeding problems or have other reasons why blood thinners aren’t the best option,” Rashba noted.
Enter the Watchman FLX, which is roughly the size of a quarter (but actually comes in different sizes, expanding its potential patient range) and is now a mainstay in the SBHI’s new Advanced Multifunctional Cath/EP Lab – a mini-mecca of cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology packing some of Long Island’s most advanced cardiac-diagnosis and treatment technologies.
Rashba, also a professor of electrophysiology at Stony Brook Medicine, is thrilled the multifunctional lab’s arsenal of advanced tech now includes Boston Scientific’s cutting-edge stroke buster – an innovative new weapon “in the hands of our expert team,” according to the cardiologist.
“It has saved lives and improved my patients’ quality of life,” Rashba added. “We are excited to bring this latest innovation to effectively provide protection equivalent to anticoagulants for preventing strokes and avoiding the risk of serious bleeding.”
