HEALTH & WELLNESS
ASK THE PHYSICIAN
Raffaele Corbisiero, M.D.,
F.A.C.C.
Ask the Physician
Attending Cardiac Electrophysiologist and Division Director,
Electrophysiology and Pacing,
answers your question.
Q: I’ve got that irregular heartbeat called “atrial fibrillation,” and my doctor has me taking warfarin to keep
blood clots from forming. I’m not happy taking a blood
thinner. Are there are any other options?
~Sean O., Egg Harbor Township
A: Sean, you’ve asked an important question, which I am
glad to answer resoundingly: Yes, there is!
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) affects your heart’s ability to
pump blood properly. This can cause blood to pool in the
heart’s left atrial appendage (LAA). There, blood cells can
stick together and form a clot. If a blood clot escapes from
the LAA and travels to another part of the body, it can cut off
the blood supply to the brain, causing a stroke.
Deborah Heart and Lung Center now offers a terrific new
technology that provides a nonsurgical alternative to longterm warfarin therapy: the WATCHMAN™ left atrial appendage closure implant. The implant, delivered through
the femoral artery in the groin, closes off the LAA, keeping
harmful blood clots from leaving the LAA and entering the
bloodstream.
As patients with AFib get older, their risk for stroke increases, as does the risk of bleeding from blood thinners.
Since the WATCHMAN™ implant reduces the risk of stroke
among patients with Afib not caused by heart valve problems, these patients usually are able to stop taking oral
anticoagulants like warfarin over time—welcome news for
those seeking a non-drug alternative to manage their stroke
risk from AFib.
The WATCHMAN™ left atrial appendage closure implant
is one of two non-pharmacologic approaches Deborah offers to patients with AFib. The other is ablation, in which a
physician carefully destroys malfunctioning heart tissue by
scarring problematic areas; this in turn stops the abnormal
signals. Ablations are performed in our Stereotaxis robotic
lab for safer and more effective procedures.
For an appointment or more information about how
Deborah Heart and Lung Center’s leading-edge technologies
can improve your quality of life, call 800-555-1990 or visit
www.demanddeborah.org.
www.njcopsmagazine.com
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