Amita Health adds innovative heart surgery procedure

LISLE - Amita Health is among the first health care providers in the Chicago area to bring a surgical alternative for stroke reduction in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.

The procedure is done with the Watchman Left Atrial Appendage Closure device. The Watchman device is the only FDA-approved implement proven to reduce stroke risk in people with atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem, mainly mitral valve stenosis.

The procedure was recently performed at Amita Health Mercy Medical Center Aurora, Amita Health Resurrection Medical Center Chicago and Amita Health Adventist Medical Center Hinsdale.

"This innovative procedure offers patients an alternative to long-term medication," said Dr. Siddharth Kakodkar. "Patients with atrial fibrillation are at a significantly greater risk of having a stroke due to clotting formed in the left atrial appendage."

An estimated 5 million Americans are affected by atrial fibrillation, a heart condition which causes the upper chambers of the heart, the atrium, to beat too fast and with irregular rhythm. Twenty percent of all strokes occur in patients with atrial fibrillation and are often more frequently fatal and disabling.