Watchman heart surgery? Any of you guys had it?

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RogerA

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Been on blood thinners (xeralto) a year now for afib caused blood clots and startied getting all these updates to get the watchman heart implant. Any of you guys do this? What’s your results? Thanks.
 
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No surgery...yet.
My cardiologist says I seem to be working up to it.
I did go through an ablation, but after 2 hours the doctor stopped. He said that it just wasn't working.

Now it's a wait and see game.
 
I have heard of it, but no personal experience, nor do I know anyone using it. I have been taking Clopidogrel (generic Plavix) for over 15 years and it does not bother me in the least to do it. I just had two stents placed over the last two months. One doctor says staying on Clopidogrel is OK, another wants me to change to Brilinta. From what I can find in my research, both do exactly the same thing and there is little difference in effectiveness. But Brilinta is FAR more expensive, even with my drug plan. Clopidogrel is a generic and is 100% covered by my drug plan. There is no generic form of Brilinta. So far I am staying on Clopidogrel that I have been taking without any problems for many years. Will decide what to do when I go back for a follow-up assessment in about a month. Neither doctor has mentioned installing the Watchman trap.
 
I have read about the Watchman and looked at all the side effects and risk involved in the surgery and so I am thinking that unless some major complications arise, I will stay away from it
 
I had one implanted in 9/21. Having a previous problem with bleeding ulcers, my Gastroenterologist wouldn't let me take the blood thinners. The procedure was an Inpatient hospital procedure, but I actually went home the same day. I did have to be on a blood thinner for 60 days, then I do take a 81 gr. aspirin.

It was about the same as having a Stent placed. I am now (as they claim) 98% protected from having a stroke. I can't tell it's there and it has made no change in my activities. It is not a cure for AFIB, but protection against a stroke.

I'm very pleased on how it went.
 
I suspect the principal advantage of Watchman would be for use by those who, for some reason, cannot use anti-platelet clumping medication. Assuming equivalent protection, I would elect to stay on medication. Plavix/Clopidogrel is supposedly about 97% effective as a heart attack/stroke preventive.
 
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DWalt said:
I have heard of it, but no personal experience, nor do I know anyone using it. I have been taking Clopidogrel (generic Plavix) for over 15 years and it does not bother me in the least to do it. I just had two stents placed over the last two months. One doctor says staying on Clopidogrel is OK, another wants me to change to Brilinta. From what I can find in my research, both do exactly the same thing and there is little difference in effectiveness. But Brilinta is FAR more expensive, even with my drug plan. Clopidogrel is a generic and is 100% covered by my drug plan. There is no generic form of Brilinta. So far I am staying on Clopidogrel that I have been taking without any problems for many years. Will decide what to do when I go back for a follow-up assessment in about a month. Neither doctor has mentioned installing the Watchman trap.
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My cardiologist used Brinita because you can get to a theraputic level quicker than other blood thinners. It also gets removed from the body quicker if you need to temporarily stop for something like Dental work or a colonscopy.
 
Brilinta instructions state two doses (90 mg each) per day. Clopidogrel is one dose (75 mg) daily. Generally, both drugs are taken with aspirin. I use one 81 mg baby aspirin daily. Aspirin is also effective in preventing platelet clumping.

I don’t consider Brilinta requiring two doses daily to be beneficial, in fact it is a PITA. The few times I have needed to stop Clopidogrel for procedures, I have simply stopped taking it at least 24 hours earlier to let it clear.
 
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I was on Warfarin but had so much trouble with yo-yoing of by PT/INR that doctor changed me to Eliquis. That stabilized it but at a dollar a pill, living seems to be getting too expensive.
 
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