New Hope for Patients at Risk of Stroke

Atrial Fibrillation is a condition where the upper chambers of the heartbeat chaotically and the pulse becomes fast and irregular. It is a fairly common heart arrhythmia, seen particularly in the elderly, those with structural heart disease and high blood pressure. The incidence of atrial fibrillation is fairly high. The biggest threat to patients with atrial fibrillation is stroke. A stroke happens due to clot formation in the left upper chamber of the heart and from where it breaks off and migrates into the circulation and most commonly into the brain arteries. The risk of stroke in patients with AF is fivefold higher. In those with valvular heart disease and AF, the stroke risk is even higher. 20 % of all strokes happen due to AF. Traditionally patients with atrial fibrillation have been treated with blood thinners which work very well in preventing stroke. However, blood thinners carry the risk of bleeding and therefore some patients cannot take them. These are people with kidney or liver disease, those with certain haematological disorders like low platelets, and patients already taking other kinds of blood thinners. Similarly, patients who have already bled because of blood thinners cannot continue to take them. This exposes them to the risk of stroke. New hope for these patients is a procedure called “Left atrial appendage device closure”.

In patients with AF, the most common location for clot formation is a small extension of the left atrium called the left atrial appendage. Blood stagnates in the appendage and clot forms. When this clot migrates, it causes a stroke. A novel way of preventing stroke is by plugging this appendage with a device in a procedure called “LAA device closure” which is done under local anaesthesia with mild sedation.

Sakra World Hospitals are regarded as the best cardiac hospital in Bangalore, performing a multitude of treatments and procedures in cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery.

A typical scenario is of Mr. B, an elderly gentleman who was on blood thinners for AF and developed a massive bleed into the brain which left him in the ICU for three weeks. He had to undergo surgery to remove a part of his skull to decompress the brain and subsequently another surgery to reconstruct the skull by Dr. Sreekanth B Shetty, Senior consultant and head of interventional cardiology at Sakra World Hospital. Back on the blood thinner, he bled again, but fortunately without any additional disability. He was obviously not going to be continued on the thinner anymore and to reduce his stroke risk, he underwent “LAA device closure “ and is doing well.

This procedure is also suitable for patients who have had previous stomach or intestinal bleeds and therefore cannot take thinners.

Sakra World Hospitals is a premier heart care centre equipped with state-of-the-art facilities available round-the-clock facilities, renowned cardiothoracic surgeons, intensivists, anesthesiologists and the best cardiac surgeon in Bangalore. Our team of cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons are trained at the top institutes in India and abroad and are completely dedicated to atrial fibrillation treatment in India.

For more information, contact Perez Consulting – Sujish@ 9986612170, Jayananda@ 810579431