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SALT LAKE CITY -- Hundreds of people suffering from a heart condition known as atrial fibrillation now have a new way to reduce the risk of clots without using blood thinners. A new implantable device seals off the clots before they can move to the brain.
For heart patients with atrial fibrillation, where the small upper chambers of the heart quiver instead of beating like they should, blood clots are always a threat. Once they move into the brain, the results can be catastrophic.
"These are big blood clots, and the strokes are absolutely disabling," explained Dr. Brian Whisenant, cardiologist at Intermountain Medical Center.
Until now, a blood thinner like warfarin or Coumadin has been the only way to prevent clots. "Coumadin is rat poison, literally, so Coumadin is a difficult drug to take and has many complications," Whisenant said.
A new option, one the Food and Drug Administration likes a lot, takes a little, mesh-like parachute into the very heart of the heart where clots form. Like the appendix in our colon, there is a little appendage in the heart where blood in these patients pools.
"It's a pouch coming off the atria, looks like a wind sock, funnel-shaped perhaps, and it has a muscle fiber where blood clots form," Whisenant explained.
A catheter snakes the device up into the heart from a small incision on the leg. When it reaches this appendage, the parachute extends over the opening. The mesh then becomes a scaffold, allowing skin to grow over the device, thus making the seal permanent.
Now, after successful clinical trials, things are looking good. "The FDA reviewed this just a week and a half ago and recommended approval," Whisenant said.
The procedure takes only about 45 minutes. Patients are usually kept overnight for observation and then go home the next day.
Whisenant says almost everyone with atrial fibrillation could be eligible for the implant. If so, that could involve an enormous population.
There may be an economic benefit as well. By reducing the need for prescription blood thinners, the Journal of Neurology says the country could save $2.2 trillion by 2050.
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