Like 2.7 million other Americans, Ed Herrelko, 77, has atrial fibrillation (AFib). According to the American Heart Association, AFib is a quivering or irregular heartbeat that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications. But perhaps unlike other people with AFib, Herrelko began thinking about the WATCHMAN™ procedure since it first came on the market and now owes his new lease on life to the procedure.
Diagnosed more than 10 years ago, Herrelko admittedly had been “paddled back into rhythm” several times before but nothing helped long-term. He just accepted the fact that he was always going to have an irregular heartbeat.
Unfortunately, Herrelko’s body had different plans. In the fall of 2019, while making breakfast one morning, he couldn’t move his arm. He was having a hemorrhagic stroke (survived by only 25% of victims.) Herrelko was brought to Mercy Health Muskegon, where he was admitted to the ICU.
“That was the prime driver for me. I knew that since I survived this stroke, I had to get the WATCHMAN now,” said Herrelko. “I wouldn’t survive a second one.”
New to the market in the last few years, the minimally invasive, one-time procedure, WATCHMAN reduces stroke risk in people with atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem. WATCHMAN is inserted into the left atrial appendage in someone’s heart by an interventional structural cardiologist.
Ninety percent of stroke-causing blood clots that come from the heart are formed in the left atrial appendage. WATCHMAN permanently closes this part of a patient’s heart to keep those blood clots from escaping.
“The device eventually becomes a part of the person’s heart, so there is no need for replacement or any kind of maintenance for the WATCHMAN,” said Noah Thormeier, DO, interventional structural cardiologist who joined the Mercy Health Structural Vascular department in July 2019. Herrelko was one of Thormeier’s first dozen patients for this procedure at Mercy Health.
“Dr. Thormeier was really comforting,” Herrelko said, “He told me, ‘If you were my dad, this is what I would recommend you do.’ Just a really nice guy.”
“It lets people with AFib live an overall better lifestyle,” said Thormeier. “They can get off blood thinners, do certain activities that aren’t allowed while on blood thinners.
Today, Herrelko looks forward to living his best life including getting back out on the golf course. His advice for others with AFib? “Don’t wait until after you have a stroke to get the WATCHMAN. Look at all your options.