Avid Gardener “Blooms Again” After AFib Treatment Heals Her Heart

Avid gardener Margaret Haberman woke up at four o’clock on a Sunday morning in September of 2021 with her heart acting abnormally.

“It felt like my heart was flipping and flopping,” says the 78-year-old San Dimas resident. “There wasn’t much pain, but it lasted about an hour. An hour later it happened again.”

Margaret didn’t seek medical help right away, thinking that the episode might have just been indigestion. She was to see her doctor for a regular medical checkup on the following Friday, five days later, so she decided to wait until then.

Her physician examined Margaret that Friday, put her on a blood thinner and arranged an appointment for her to see Gaurav Parikh, MD, physician at Pomona Cardiology and an interventional cardiologist at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (PVHMC).

Dr. Parikh’s examination diagnosed Margaret’s heart issue as atrial fibrillation, or Afib, a condition where the heart has an irregular or a very rapid heart rhythm. AFib can lead to blood clots in the heart. Blood clots increase the risk of stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications.

A healthy person’s heart usually beats 60 to 150 beats per minute, but AFib can cause 400 contractions per minute, putting excessive stress on the heart.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AFib affects nearly 12 million people in the U.S.

At the cardiology office, Margaret was soon introduced to cardiologist Ramanna Merla, MD, who recommended the Watchman device to close her left atrial appendage. The left atrial appendage is a small pouch, shaped like a windsock, found in the top left of your heart (the left atrium).

Akin to the appendix in nature, the left appendage doesn’t really have a clear role in heart function and for people with an abnormal heart rhythm like Margaret, the appendage fills with blood that sits unpumped by the heart and then thickens. The thickened blood can turn into clots that cause strokes.

When the Watchman device is inserted into the heart’s appendage through an elective, minimally invasive procedure, heart tissue grows over the device and the appendage is permanently closed. The procedure is almost 100 percent effective in stopping blot clots.

For more than a year after her diagnosis, Margaret relied on blood thinner medication to protect her from blood clots. In November of 2023, Dr. Merla performed her Watchman procedure at the Stead Heart & Vascular Center, and within just a few months, she was thrilled to no longer be on blood thinners.

“I feel great, I’m not on heart medication anymore,” says Margaret. “I can now get back to doing things that I enjoy, like taking care of my garden of succulents and flowers.”

The Stead Heart & Vascular program provides comprehensive preventative, interventional and rehabilitative care for all cardiovascular patients. Learn more about the Stead Heart and Vascular Center and the Watchman device here