Did a stress test today. I lasted a whole 10 minutes on the treadmill. The nurse promised me she was not going to make me run...then the machine decided I needed to run...I bailed off. A cardiologist came in and looked at the strip and stated he saw "some abnormalities" and made some comment about a drop in blood pressure. He took the strip and said he wants to study it a bit more and will make his report. So now, I am on a monitor for two weeks. Still waiting on the EP surgeon to decide what he wants to do about putting in the Watchman FLX. I hate waiting.

The watchman is just to replace blood thinners, but dies not help AFIB, correct?

Hi @cturner01,
The watchman device is used to close off the heart’s left atrial appendage (LAA). It can be an alternative to blood thinners, but it's main function is to prevent blood clots from being thrown from the LAA that would cause a stroke in people with AFib. Overall it does not prevent AFib from happening.

Here is a good article that explains it in detail. https://www.umcvc.org/conditions-treatments/watchman-device-treating-atrial-fibrillation-afib

@cturner01, do you currently have AFib?

Yes! Not sure where you are located. But the Cleveland Clinic is the best heart hospital. Make appt with Dr Tchou

Got a phone call from my cardi's office. She got the stress test results back and I am now scheduled for a NM MYCARDIA. This will happen on Mar 8th. I still don't know what the first stress test showed. Guess they want to keep me in the dark. My gut feeling is this is not going to go well. Does this ever end?

FYI...I found St. David's Hospital listed in Austin, Texas. They have some EP's there that do the watchman. There is a Dr Norton that was involved in the Watchman trials as I understand it. I have contacted the hospital for more information. Just in case anyone is interesed in a Texas location. So far, from what I have read, this place is very good.

Just received the results for my nuclear stress test. The results are as follows:
FINDINGS: The rotational raw data demonstrate stable patient position. The stress images demonstrate a small region of mildly reduced activity at the basal to mid inferior wall. The rest images demonstrate reversibility of this finding. Gated images
demonstrate normal left ventricular wall motion and thickening. The left ventricular ejection fraction is normal at 69%.

IMPRESSION: Probably abnormal myocardial perfusion study:
1. Small reversible finding at basal to mid inferior wall suggests a small region of ischemia.
2. Normal left ventricular systolic function.
Cardiologist changed my meds. Took me off Gemfibrozil and starting me on Crestor 20 mg. She wants to do a cath but is concerned about my internal bleeding so the cath has to wait. She did give me a referral to a new cardiologist (EP) to see about putting in the Watchman FLX. Just waiting to get appointments at this time. Two week heart monitor did not show anything un-expected.

My cardiologist recommended that I speak with a rep (Doctor) from Watchman. He called and asked me a bunch of questions relative to bleeding episodes, my A-Fib, heart palpitations, etc., and he determined that I do not qualify for the Watchman device. My cardiologist had told me that the sole reason to have a Watchman implant is to get off blood thinners.

My Watchman FLX procedure is now scheduled for April 22nd. They are also using another kind of device to assist the Watchman but right now I do not know the name of it. I will post more as soon as I get more information.

My Watchman FLX procedure was a success!. They had no complications putting in the device. The EP said it went in much easier than he thought it was going to go. He is happy, so I am happy.
The only problem they had was closing the groin. Had some bleeding issues. They had to put in some kind of clip to get it to stop. This procedure was very painful.
During the Watchman procedure, they used both sides of the groin. They did not do the normal TEE but decided to use the echo thing through the left groin instead which was much better for me. No sore, raw throat!
Recovery went very well also. I must say I had a wonderful team of people taking care of me. The nurses were super!
my only complaint was the food. Normal hospital food.
I am now home with one very sore groin. No bleeding. So all in all, it went very well.
The one thing that sticks out for me is the total difference in the way they did things in the hospital. It was ttotlly diffferent than the first attempt. I was mentally prepared for how the procedure was to go and it was different. The second procedure went much better than the first. So, as usual, every hospital has it's own way of doing things.
So my next move is to consider doing the ablation. This decision will take some time to make.
Plesase, everyone, keep posting here of your procedures and issues. Your information helps many others make their decisions. No matter how little information you can add, it all adds up. Heart procedures are very serious, so let's all help each other get through them as well as we can. Thank everyone for your support during this time.