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Aspirus St. Luke’s Heart & Vascular Care team recently celebrated its 200th atrial appendage closure case using the latest FDA-approved version of a lifesaving device.
Aspirus St. Luke’s Heart & Vascular Care team uses Boston Scientific’s Watchman atrial appendage occluder device to help patients reduce their risk of stroke and discontinue anticoagulation. The milestone was marked with the implementation of the latest version of the Watchman, the first to do so in the region.
“The procedure is minimally invasive. We gain access to the heart from the femoral vein. Following transeptal crossing we locate the atrial appendage and deploy the device. Patients can often be discharged just a few hours after the procedure.” Aspirus St. Luke’s Cardiologist Dr. Leif Christianson said. “Eventually tissue grows over the device, thus sealing off the appendage. It’s quite incredible that our team can offer our patients this kind of technology to reduce their risk of something as debilitating as a stroke.”
To be eligible for the procedure, a patient must have atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter and be on or have been recommended to take blood thinners to reduce the risk of stroke (based on CHADS-Vasc score) and have a valid reason to either not initiate or discontinue blood thinners (history of bleeding, falls, labile INRs, etc.). To learn more about the Watchman, visit slhduluth.com/watchman.
About Aspirus
Aspirus Health is a nonprofit, community-directed health system based in Wausau, Wisconsin, serving northeastern Minnesota, northern and central Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The health system operates 18 hospitals and 130 outpatient locations with nearly 14,000 team members, including 1,300 employed physicians and advanced practice clinicians. Learn more at aspirus.org. – Press release
