Baylor Scott & White in College Station celebrates 100 LAAO procedures, patient shares his story
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – February is American Heart Month, a time when people are encouraged to focus on cardiovascular health.
For one patient, Terry Sperling, who works with his hands in the construction business, his heart health became an important topic with his doctor, leading him to the left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO), or WATCHMAN, procedure.
The procedure serves as an alternative to blood thinners. It’s a minimally invasive treatment option that helps with concerns that often come with AFib, such as an increased risk of stroke.
“For all of those patients, not being on a blood thinner is important in addition to trying to prevent a stroke,” said Jason Cohen, DO, a cardiologist at Baylor Scott & White. “We normally prevent a stroke by putting them on a blood thinner but for these patients, it’s important to continue to prevent the stroke but keep them off of blood thinner in the long run.”
For Sperling, getting off of blood thinners is important for his line of work.
“I use my hands a lot, with hand tools and I will nick myself from time to time and then I have to stop for 15 minutes or so until it quits bleeding and this will cure that,” Sperling said.
Sperling says he was able to return to normal life thanks to this procedure without the limitations due to AFib or blood thinners.
“Just peace of mind of it and realizing that I might live a little bit longer,” Sperling said.
During this American Heart Month, Baylor Scott & White in College Station celebrated 100 LAAO procedures.
