The Christ Hospital Provides New Treatment to Reduce Stroke Risks for Heart Patients

First in the Region to Offer New Technology

Cincinnati (Sept. 15, 2015) – Even in his mid-80s, Dick Quehl still enjoyed mowing the lawn at his Finneytown home.
"My family wouldn't let me work up on the roof anymore," Quehl said with a chuckle. "I guess they think I'm too old. But at least they let me cut the grass. I tell my grandsons they don't' need to cut it, that I still need the exercise."
But it was while mowing his yard just a few years ago that Quehl began feeling sick. "I felt like I was going to pass out. I knew I better see my doctor."
 
Quehl, who had a heart attack in 1998, was seen by his doctor, Dean Kereiakes, M.D., the medical director of The Christ Hospital Heart and Vascular Center and the Carl and Edyth Lindner Center for Research and Education at The Christ Hospital.
Quehl was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat condition called atrial fibrillation, also known as Afib, a condition that affects about five million Americans. Afib, the most common cardiac arrhythmia, greatly increases the risk of a stroke.
The Christ Hospital was the only center in the region to participate in a clinical trial researching the effectiveness of a new device to prevent stroke in patients with Afib."Dr. Kereiakes asked me if I was interested in being involved in a research program that was testing a new device that hadn't been approved by the (Food and Drug Administration)," Quehl said. "I told him sure, if you think it will help."
 
Through a minimally invasive procedure performed by Madhukar Gupta, MD, a specialist in cardiac electrophysiology at The Christ Hospital Heart and Vascular Center, a new device known as the Watchman was implanted into Quehl's heart. At the time, "I couldn't believe how easy it was," said Quehl, now 89. "It was a piece of cake. I'd rather do that than have my teeth cleaned. I was in and out of the hospital with no pain, no side effects, nothing. I didn't even have to stay all night. And I haven't been sick since."
Thanks to researchers at The Christ Hospital and patients like Quehl, the Watchman is now available to patients locally and across the country. The first FDA-approved procedure in the region was recently performed by Madhukar Gupta, MD and Joseph Choo, MD, interventional cardiologist, at the The Christ Hospital.
In addition to reducing the risk of a stroke, the Watchman can be an alternative for patients taking anticoagulants (also known as blood thinners), drugs that may be effective but often require inconvenient monthly monitoring also have serious side effects including life-threatening bleeding.
"The Watchman is a game-changer, especially for patients who can't tolerate anticoagulation drugs, or blood thinners, or who have active lifestyles that make anticoagulation particularly undesirable," said Joseph Choo, MD.
 
About the size of a coin, The Watchman is inserted through a catheter into the specific area of the heart most often responsible for clots that cause stroke.  The one-time procedure effectively “seals off” this area and prevents stroke-causing blood clots from entering the blood stream.
"This breakthrough is yet another example of The Christ Hospital participating in the latest clinical trials and bringing leading-edge treatment options to our community," Dr. Kereiakes said. "We are clearly setting the bar for all other hospitals in the region by being the leader in clinical trial development of technology to achieve better patient outcomes.”
Dick Quehl said he is grateful and proud for being part of the clinical research for the Watchman.
"I'm off the blood thinners, all I take is a baby Aspirin, I feel great and really liked that I was able to help other people by being part of this research," he said. "And I still cut the grass."
Dick's son, David Quehl, said the Quehl family is convinced of the Watchman's impact.
"This device has certainly extended Dad's life and allows him to maintain his independence," David Quehl said. "As a family, we are so grateful for that."

To learn more about the AFib treatment options at The Christ Hospital, call 513-206-1275 or visit TheChristHospital.com/afib.
 
About The Christ Hospital Health Network: The Christ Hospital Health Network is an acute care hospital located in Mt. Auburn with five ambulatory centers and 181 neighborhood offices conveniently located throughout the Greater Cincinnati area. Its mission is to improve the health of the community and to create patient value by providing exceptional outcomes, affordable care and the finest experiences. Led by the region’s Most Preferred Hospital (National Research Corporation) for 19 consecutive years, the network is dedicated to transforming care by delivering integrated, individualized healthcare and wellness services through its comprehensive physician network and advanced specialty service. The Christ Hospital is among only 6% of hospitals in the nation to be awarded Magnet recognition for nursing excellence and among the top 5% of hospitals in the country for patient satisfaction. For more than 125 years, The Christ Hospital has provided compassionate care to all those it serves.
 
About The Lindner Research Center: For the past 25 years, The Carl and Edyth Lindner Center for Research and Education (Lindner Research Center) has provided leading-edge medicines and medical technology research covering a broad spectrum of conditions from obesity, diabetes, coronary disease, hypertension and hyperlipidemia to new vascular interventional devices, adult stem cell therapies, structural heart disease, cardiovascular surgery, heart failure and electrophysiology. Physicians at the Lindner Research Center have conducted more than 1,200 clinical trials including multiple first-in-man and first-in-the-U.S procedures, which have contributed to best practice standards for the care of patients. For information on current trials, please call 513-585-1777.