Maryland's Health Matters - UMMS - Winter 2014 - (Page 2)

an interventional cardiologist and an assistant professor of two other devices medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. under development "For older adults, loss of independence is their biggest fear, that seal off the left so the possibility of stroke is unsettling." atrial appendage, BEING THE FIRST so a greater array of solutions for For these patients, a new treatment option could prevent To discover more about the Lariat procedure at University of Maryland Medical Center, call 800-492-5538. this problem is on stroke without causing other health issues in the process. LEARN MORE ABOUT LARIAT the horizon. University of Maryland Medical Center is one of only a University of Maryland Medical Center performed its few hospitals in the mid-Atlantic region to begin using first Lariat procedure on a patient last August; that patient a groundbreaking procedure called Lariat, which ties off recovered completely and is back to her normal activities. a clot-forming portion of the heart in A-fib patients, spar- "Most patients won't feel differently after the procedure, ing them the need to take blood thinners and lowering but they will have greater peace of mind knowing that they their stroke risk. have added protection against stroke. It is something we For A-fib patients with a history of complications from are excited to offer to our patients," Dr. Srivastava says. taking anticoagulants, the Lariat procedure is a strong alternative to decreasing the risk of stroke without affecting the rest of the heart. "There is a section of the heart called the left atrial appendage that's much like the appendix in that we can live without it, but it can also be problematic as a source of stroke," explains electrophysiologist Vincent See, MD, an assistant professor of medicine Vincent See, MD at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "But research indicates that 80 to 90 percent of blood clots that create an issue like stroke for A-fib patients may originate there." Physicians haven't found a significant clinical impact of removing the left atrial appendage from circulation. During the procedure, the tiny Lariat device, which is similar to a cowboy's lasso, is looped around the base of the left atrial appendage and tightened, permanently sealing it off from the rest of the heart and blocking any blood clots that form there from traveling to the brain. The procedure is performed under general anesthesia using two catheters, and is completed by a team of physicians from interventional cardiology, cardiac electrophysiology, cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery and anesthesiology. "This procedure offers an alternative for stroke protection," Dr. See says. "It's minimally invasive but also technically advanced." Before the Lariat procedure, tying off atrial appendages required open heart surgery. HOPE ON THE HORIZON Since it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2008, Lariat has been used in an estimated 1,400 A-fib patients in the United States and Poland. There are The FDA-approved suture device above is used to tie off the heart's left atrial appendage. The loop stitch tightens around the base of the appendage and permanently seals it off from the rest of the heart, with no metal, clip or implant left behind.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maryland's Health Matters - UMMS - Winter 2014

Maryland's Health Matters - UMMS - Winter 2014