Watchman Device

[MrGC314]

I was diagnosed with afib only one time during a routine checkup. It was never found again. I even bought an afib detector that I test myself 3x a day. I have never had any symptoms. With that said, I realize afib is a progressive type of issue. In view that I have great cholesterol numbers and nothing else was revealed with intensive-in depth testing, except for a 337 Calcium score, I would like to be more aggressive with my afib than just taking blood thinners for the rest of my life. Eliquis has basically changed who I am. I would like to tackle the possibility of having the watchman device installed and work my way off blood thinners indefinitely. Has anyone had any experience with the watchman device? Its success rate seems phenomenally high and the procedure appears to be an overnight stay. Although I live in New England, I would even fly to John Hopkins or Cleveland Clinic to get this done by the experts. If anyone can shed any light on this topic I would appreciate it. Again, I have had only one found event of afib and have no symptoms whatsoever. The other issue is, I lost 30 pounds since that physical and mild sleep apnea has also disappeared. Using a CPAP for 3 weeks, I find an AHI of about 0.8.. Thank you in advance for any help.

[BobD Volunteer]

First and most obvious question is what is your CHADSVASC score? If you are unable to record any AF events and have a regular heart rate within normal levels (60 to 100) and have taken control of the life style risk elements one should question the need for anticoagulation at all let alone a potentially risky procedure. Everything has risks before you say anything.

[jeanjeannie50]

A member on this forum who lives in the U.S. has been singing the praises of the Wolf Maze procedure she had recently. Her last post is here:

healthunlocked.com/afassoci...

If you click your mouse on her avatar/icon you will see all her posts.

Jean

[MarkS]

I think a Watchman would to totally OTT if you've only had one bout of AF. Watchman is heavily marketed in the States, but there seem to be a number of downsides. You would need to remain on aspirin for life and that causes more brain bleeds than well controlled warfarin or the DOACs. Also: "Strokes from Clot on Watchman": medscape.com/viewarticle/89...

"Exploring the dark side of LAA closure devices": medscape.com/viewarticle/89...