Implanted Device Eliminates Blood Thinners for AFib Patient

One morning, Stacy Joslin of Conneaut, Ohio, woke up and knew something wasn’t right.

“I felt like I’d run a marathon, but I’d just opened my eyes,” she said. “I took my own heart rate and estimated about 170 or 180 beats per minute – very high.”

Joslin went to University Hospitals Geneva Medical Center, where she was told she was in atrial fibrillation or AFib.

AFib is caused by disorganized electrical impulses in the chambers of the heart. These uneven and often rapid impulses in the atria (upper chambers of heart) can leave a patient feeling like their heart is racing or even slowed down. This abnormality may prevent the heart from pushing enough blood into the ventricles (lower chambers of the heart). Such sluggish blood flow means the heart isn’t pumping effectively, and if not addressed, can cause heart failure over time or blood clots that lead to stroke. The American Heart Association estimates that more than five million people in the U.S. have AFib.

At UH Geneva, Joslin was put under general anesthesia while her heart was shocked back into rhythm. She reported almost immediately feeling better and more like her normal self.

Joslin kept yearly checkups with her physician at University Hospitals Conneaut Medical Center and was prescribed a blood thinner medication. Blood thinners reduce blood clotting, which cuts the chance for stroke but can also cause side effects, including diarrhea, nausea, dizziness, headache, bruising and spontaneous bleeding.

“At that time, I was only 57 years old,” she said. “I didn’t like the idea of taking this pill every day for the rest of my life.”

That’s when Joslin was referred to Steven Filby, MD, an interventional cardiologist at University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute and leading expert in the Watchman device.

Watchman is an alternative to blood thinners. It’s a small, parachute-shaped device that is implanted in the left atrial appendage (LAA) of the heart to prevent blood clots from entering the heart and causing a stroke. The LAA is a small pouch in the upper left chamber of the heart, where more than 90 percent of stroke-causing clots form in patients with AFib.

Dr. Filby is one of the world’s most experienced Watchman operators. The Watchman program at UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute has the highest published success rate in the U.S. at 99.7 percent. UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute is also one of the first Watchman programs in the country to implement same-day discharge. In addition, UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute leads the country in implementing advanced imaging protocols to make the Watchman procedure more successful.

“We have dedicated ourselves to creating a successful program in order to give our patients the best results,” said Dr. Filby. “When you do a high number of procedures, you learn from each one. We take this knowledge into each procedure to the benefit of each unique patient.”

Joslin underwent her Watchman procedure at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center in June 2024.

“The experience was very good. I was released home that very same day,” she said. “I’m off my blood thinner medication, and I now feel better than I did before I started taking it and while I was on it. I don’t have to deal with bothersome side effects.”

“For patients like Stacy who don’t want to take blood thinners for the rest of their lives, an LAA closure with the Watchman device can be an excellent alternative,” says Dr. Filby.