I slipped this short piece in as I was so happy this was finally going to be done 🙂
In December 2023 I had an appointment with my cardio doc. I wasn’t expecting much, just a review of how things were going. Earlier that month my sister had died after a double stroke, one to the left side of the brain, the other to the right. I was still shocked and deeply upset by this tragedy.
I was completely blindsided by the doc when he started going on about needing a Watchman to reduce the risk of fatal strokes. I was confused, had no idea what he was talking about and told him so. He then quickly explained what he was proposing but it really didn’t sink in – I thought everything with my heart was ok and now he was telling me the opposite. I do remember he said I needed an ICE procedure – and it would have to be done though my leg instead of the usual way via the throat because of my cancer…still no idea what he was talking about!
This ICE procedure was set up for February 8th and by the middle of January I was still none the wiser as to what was going on. I set up a meeting with his PA to find out….
At the meeting I explained to her that I was still in shock about my sister and then she patiently explained what was happening. Whereas I thought my heart was doing ok, in fact my ICD (pacemaker/defibrillator which is monitored remotely) showed I was now in A-Fib 35% of the time and at risk of dying from blood clots forming in my left ventricle atrium. She then told me that I needed a Watchman fitted which would seal off this part of the heart.
This was a seminal moment for me as it was then I realized that my heart was getting progressively worse and this realization led me down this path to cardiotoxicity and cancer treatment.
On the 8th of February I had the ICE (Intercardiac Echocardiography) where they pushed a device up through my femoral artery (right leg) and were able to take pictures and measurements inside my heart of the atrial appendage. They were measuring the opening to make sure it was of suitable size to accommodate the Watchman. The Watchman is an umbrella-like device that is pushed into the atrial appendage (via the femoral artery) then opened up to seal off the entrance.
The left atrial appendage is a small, ear-shaped pouch in the left atrium of the heart. In patients with A-Fib, blood can pool and form clots in the atrial appendage, which can then travel to the brain, causing a stroke. The Watchman device is designed to seal this off, reducing the risk of stroke by preventing clots from escaping into the bloodstream.
While the left atrial appendage serves some functional purposes, its importance has diminished over the course of human evolution, and it is not considered an essential structure for normal heart function in adults. Due to my decreased left ventricle ejection fraction (output pressure) clots could easily form.
In order to keep me safe until the procedure could be done I was put on Eliquis which is a blood thinner and, here in the US runs at $732 per month!
So finally, after a slight insurance issue the procedure is now scheduled for the 11th April.
Afterwards I will stay on Eliquis for 45 days or so, have another ICE procedure to make sure the atrial appendage is in fact sealed and then I should be able to stop taking the Eliquis.
It will be a huge relief to get this over and done with!