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The WATCHMAN™ Implant: What You Need to Know

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The WATCHMAN™ Implant: 10 Questions Answered

The WATCHMAN Implant can reduce your risk of stroke and eliminate your use of blood thinners if you have atrial fibrillation (AFib) not caused by a heart valve problem.

1. What is AFib?

It is a common type of heart arrhythmia that causes the heart to beat irregularly. It occurs when upper chambers of the heart (right and left atria) no longer contract in coordination.

2. What are the symptoms?

This can occur without symptoms or may make you feel tired, lightheaded, short of breath or a fluttering sensation in your chest.

3. Is AFib dangerous?

When your heart beats irregularly with AFib, it can lead to blood clots, especially in the left atrial appendage (LAA) of the heart. In this scenario, you are five times more likely to have a stroke than someone with a regular heartbeat. Although blood thinners can reduce your risk of stroke, medications create other dangers, including bleeding. Other factors that increase stroke risk include ages 75 and up, high blood pressure, heart failure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and prior stroke.

4. How does WATCHMAN help?

The WATCHMAN Implant prevents blood clots in the LAA by closing it. The LAA is where 90% of stroke-causing blood clots come from in the heart.

5. Is WATCHMAN safe?

Over 100,000 people worldwide have received the WATCHMAN Implant. It is the only implant of its kind approved by the FDA. With all medical procedures, there are risks associated with the implant procedure and the use of the device. Talk to your doctor, so you thoroughly understand all of the risks and benefits associated with the WATCHMAN Implant.

6. What are typical results?

You may be able to stop using blood thinners 45 days after your implant. After one year, 99% of patients discontinued using blood thinners.

7. What happens during the procedure?

During this one-time, minimally invasive procedure, a narrow tube is inserted into a blood vessel in your upper leg and goes to your LAA. The WATCHMAN is inserted through the tube until it reaches the LAA, where it unfolds like an umbrella. A thin layer of tissue will grow over the surface of the implant within about 45 days.

General anesthesia is used, so you are asleep during the procedure.

8. How long will I be in the hospital?

You will likely return home the day after the procedure.

9. What happens after the procedure?

Your follow-up appointment will be approximately 45 days after your procedure. At this time, your physician will check if tissue has adequately covered the WATCHMAN Implant. If so, you may be able to stop taking blood thinners. If not, you will have a follow-up appointment scheduled as necessary to monitor the progress.

10. Who performs the procedure?

Trained and experienced physicians, Kinan Kassar, M.D., interventional cardiologist, and Shaun Bhatty, M.D., electrophysiologist, who are both part of the Genesis Heart & Vascular Group.

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Talk to your doctor to determine if the WATCHMAN Implant is right for you.

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Thu, 05/21/2020 - 18:54

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Monarch Robotic-assisted Bronchoscopy

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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The disease hides in the lungs and usually does not show symptoms until it is too late. That changes now.

Watch Dr. Adamo Explain the Monarch Robotic-assisted Bronchoscopy System

Diagnosing lung cancer earlier and more accurately saves lives

Listen to Emily Brawner describe the Monarch Robotic-assisted Bronchoscopy System on the Sounds of Good Health with Genesis Podcast

Listen now

As part of our commitment to provide the best care, we have invested in innovative technology to overcome the traits that make lung cancer so deadly.

The revolutionary Monarch Robotic-assisted Bronchoscopy has a flexible tube, 3D camera and precision control. With Monarch, our doctors can search for cancer in a maze of passageways. When something suspicious is located, they can take biopsies that were previously unreachable without surgery. The results are earlier and more accurate diagnosis than ever before.

Additionally, since it is minimally invasive, patients go home the same day of the procedure.

"When I learned about that spot on my lung, I felt devastated. I wanted the best and quickest help I could get, and that’s what I received at Genesis,” Shelly said.

To learn what the biopsy revealed, and how Genesis provided Shelly with the highest of quality care, click here.

Comprehensive Care

The Monarch Robotic-assisted Bronchoscopy is one of the many resources we use to keep you healthy. Along with the latest technology and our low dose CT screening program, our pulmonary doctors partner with specialists to ensure you receive the best treatment for your specific situation now and in the future.

James Adamo, M.D., F.C.C.P and Emily Brawner, D.O., F.C.C.P. are our trained and experienced physicians who perform the Monarch Robotic-assisted bronchoscopy.

Call 740-586-6888 to learn more and find out if the Monarch procedure is appropriate for you.

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Thu, 09/03/2020 - 18:01

https://radiomd.com/audio-player/genesishcs/item/44221-diagnosing-lung-cancer-earlier

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MitraClip™ Implant: What You Need to Know

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MitraClip™ Implant Questions and Answers

1. What is mitral valve regurgitation?

a. This occurs when the mitral valve flap in your heart does not work correctly, allowing blood to leak backwards into the heart.

2. Are there symptoms?

a. You may be symptom free, or suffer from one or more of the following including a mild cough, lightheadedness, fatigue, shortness of breath that increases with activity and lying down or rapid heartbeat.

3. Is mitral valve regurgitation dangerous?

a. There are two forms of mitral valve regurgitation. Degenerative mitral regurgitation is when a valve is damaged. The damage can be from a birth defect, certain infections or aging. Degenerative mitral regurgitation can lead to strokes.

4. Who are candidates for MitraClip?

a. MitraClip can help, if you have degenerative mitral regurgitation and are considered high risk for surgery. MitraClip is a solution for functional mitral disease if treatments did not help.

5. What happens during the procedure?

a. The MitraClip implant is a one time, minimally invasive procedure. The implant is inserted through a vein in your upper leg and guided to your heart, where it is attached to your mitral valve.

General anesthesia is used so you will be asleep during the procedure.

6. How does MitraClip help?

a. After the MitraClip is attached to the malfunctioning mitral valve in your heart, it will help the valve to close properly and restore normal blood flow through the heart.

7. What happens after the procedure?

a. You will stay in the hospital for one to three days. After the implant, you will take a blood thinner and aspirin. A checkup will occur in 30 days and at one year.

8. Who is on the procedure team?

a. A trained and experienced team of physicians make up the MitraClip team. The team includes Kinan Kassar, M.D., Interventional Cardiologist, Mahmoud Farhoud, M.D., Cardiologist Imaging Specialist and Selomie Kebede, M.D., Cardiologist Imaging Specialist. Each of these physicians are part of the Genesis Heart & Vascular Group.

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Heart Health

Mon, 08/24/2020 - 19:42

MitraClip™ Implant Questions and Answers

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Advanced Minimally Invasive Treatments Tackle Structural Heart Disease

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It's been said "it always seems impossible until it's done." This statement couldn't be truer for the advanced minimally invasive treatments used today for structural heart disease. As one of the most exciting and fastest growing fields in cardiovascular medicine, technological developments over the last decade have led to previously unthinkable procedures becoming a successful option for a wide range of patients with defects or disorders in their heart's structure.

Not all heart disease is the same

Eating healthy and exercising is important for preventing coronary heart disease, which is caused by plaque buildup in the arteries that can cause chest pain and even heart attack. But, structural heart disease is different.

A heart problem that is structural may be present at birth (congenital) causing conditions such as a hole within the chambers of the heart. Structural heart disease acquired through wear and tear due to aging and time can lead to a tight aortic valve (aortic stenosis), or a leaky heart valve (mitral valve regurgitation) causing some blood to leak backward through the valve.

For patients with severe aortic stenosis, or narrowing of the aortic valve, the only treatment option for the last 50 years has been open heart surgery. While open heart surgery may still be a solution for some patients, minimally invasive catheter-based therapies have made care easier, with fewer complications and quicker recoveries.

Minimally invasive evolution: TAVR

As the most common structural heart disease treated today, heart valve disease is being successfully managed with non-surgical minimally invasive procedures, including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). An increasingly-popular alternative to surgical repair, TAVR is a proven alternative to more traditional aortic valve surgery for both the medium or high-risk patient, and has more recently expanded as an option for those at lower risk. In fact, statistics from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons reports the number of U.S. TAVR procedures has risen from less than 5,000 in 2012 to more than 50,000 in 2018.

TAVR is a complete paradigm shift. Often completed through a tiny nick in the groin or a small cut in the neck, TAVR is performed by using a tube called a catheter and tools that fit inside the catheter. By putting the catheter into a blood vessel, we move it through the blood vessel into the heart.

The catheter holds a new artificial valve, which is then implanted or deployed into the damaged aortic valve. As the artificial valve expands it takes the place of the damaged valve. The TAVR procedure repairs the heart valve without removing the damaged valve.

After an average one or two day stay in the hospital, TAVR patients can resume normal activities within a week following the procedure. TAVR was initially approved for high-risk patients in poor health who weren't considered good candidates for traditional open-heart surgery. Now, essentially anyone who has symptomatic aortic valve stenosis is a candidate for TAVR.

Signs it's time to take steps for healing

While some people with aortic valve stenosis may not experience symptoms for many years, the disease has typically progressed to an advanced stage by the time mild to severe symptoms are noticed. A wide range of warning signs that may indicate severe narrowing of the valve and treatment is necessary, include:

Abnormal heart sound (heart murmur) heard through a stethoscope
Chest pain (angina) or tightness with activity
Feeling faint or dizzy or fainting with activity
Shortness of breath, especially when after being active
Fatigue, especially during times of increased activity
Heart palpitations (sensations of a rapid, fluttering heartbeat)

Aortic valve stenosis may also lead to heart failure, with signs and symptoms of heart failure include fatigue, shortness of breath and swollen ankles and feet.

Studies show that 50% of patients who don't receive a valve replacement are unlikely to survive more than an average of two years after symptoms begin,. While the procedure isn't without its risks, including bleeding problems and stroke, any patient who has severe aortic stenosis should be considered for TAVR.

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Beyond TAVR: MitraClip

As TAVR evolves for treatment of aortic valve narrowing, technology is addressing another form of structural heart disease: mitral regurgitation or leaky heart valve. Known as the MitraClip™, the innovative transcatheter device has been used since 2013 to provide relief of leaky heart valve without the risk of conventional surgery.

Five years later, research showed transcatheter mitral valve repair with the MitraClip significantly reduces hospitalization and all-cause mortality compared with medical therapy alone. In patients with heart failure and moderate-to-severe or severe mitral regurgitation who continue to have symptoms despite optimal medical therapy, MitraClip is a successful treatment option. In addition, the FDA's broadened approval of the device supports MitraClip as an option for a broad range of patients with mitral regurgitation.

People who have abnormalities of the mitral valve can develop heart failure symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue and swelling in the legs — signs the valve is leaking severely.

A minimally invasive catheter-based procedure, MitraClip treats a severely leaking mitral valve by inserting the implant through a catheter inserted in a vein in the upper leg and guided to the heart. Once the implant (a clip) is attached to the mitral valve it can then close properly to restore normal blood flow.

Genesis is one of America’s Top 50 Heart Hospitals

For the 2nd year in a row

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Mon, 10/26/2020 - 14:05

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4 Ways To Know If You Are in Good Health

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Do you know your numbers?

There are four key measurements of health you should know and track. They are early warning signs for heart disease and diabetes. Since these two diseases have few noticeable symptoms, you may not even realize you are ill — or at risk for becoming ill — until it’s too late. Keeping these numbers within a healthy range can help prevent a medical emergency, such as a heart attack.

1: Blood Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance found in every cell in your body, including blood cells. Too much cholesterol may accumulate on your blood vessel walls, where it can harden and turn into plaque. This may narrow your blood vessels, reducing blood flow and putting you at risk for heart disease.

There are different types of cholesterol. You’ve probably heard of “good” cholesterol (HDL, or high-density lipoproteins), “bad” cholesterol (LDL, or low-density lipoproteins) and triglycerides (a form of fat that can raise your cholesterol levels). All three, plus your total cholesterol, are important.

Heart experts recommend the following healthy blood cholesterol levels. You want to measure cholesterol after fasting for nine to 12 hours.

Total cholesterol < 200 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter)

HDL cholesterol > 60 mg/dL

LDL cholesterol < 100 mg/dL

Triglycerides < 100 mg/dL

2: Blood Pressure

Blood pressure measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats (systolic pressure) and in between beats (diastolic pressure). Your blood pressure is your systolic pressure over your diastolic pressure. If you have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, your heart must work harder than normal, which can lead to heart disease, stroke and other serious conditions. A normal blood pressure is generally considered less than 120 systolic and less than 80 diastolic. Talk to your doctor about the right target blood pressure goal for you.

3: Blood Sugar

People with diabetes have to much sugar (glucose) in their blood. Diabetes is a serious disease, affecting nearly 30 million people in the U.S.

Your doctor can perform several tests to measure your blood glucose. The fasting plasma glucose test (FPGT) and the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) require you to fast beforehand. The A1C measures average blood glucose over the previous three months and does not require fasting. Normal blood glucose levels are typically:

FPGT < 100 mg/dL

OGTT < 140 mg/dL

A1C < 5.7 percent

4: Weight

Obesity, especially in the form of extra fat around your midsection, is a significant risk factor for heart disease and diabetes, so your weight, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference together make up the fourth key health measurement. BMI is a rough measure of the amount of fat in your body based on your weight and height. Use this chart, use an online calculator or ask your doctor to determine your BMI. A normal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9. Your waist circumference should be less than 35 inches (women) or 40 inches (men). Measure your waist just above your hipbones and immediately after exhaling.

Do One Thing: Know your numbers. Get a baseline measurement of these four health markers and talk to your doctor about your disease risk factors.

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Thu, 03/16/2017 - 19:04

There are four key measurements of health you should know and track.

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5 Health Risks For Baby Boomers (Infographic)

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Chronic health conditions for adults 50 to 60 years of age

Baby Boomers are the 76 million people born between 1946 and 1964, in the relative calm and prosperity following World War II.

Despite their optimistic outlook and general affluence, Baby Boomers face unprecedented health challenges. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 60 percent of adults age 50 to 64 suffer from one or more chronic health conditions. These chronic diseases are among the top causes of death and disability in Boomers.

> Generation X: 5 Health Risks You Need to Know About (Infographic)