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By: Ed Russo
We'll see another shot at showers and t'storms today. The biggest threat with the storms will be very heavy rain and the potential for strong winds. The threat for severe weather is at a 2/5, mainly along and east of I-81.
Ed Russo is a broadcast meteorologist based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. With a passion for weather and a love for the local community, Ed provides accurate and timely weather forecasts for SBG Harrisburg. In addition to his meteorology work, Ed is also a commercial drone pilot, surfer, water safety advocate, math-science tutor, and self-proclaimed food snob.
Live August's Heart to Heart segment with Meteorologist Ed Russo (WHP) Atrial fibrillation or AFib is a condition that involves an irregular heartbeat that can lead to dangerous clotting. "This rhythm originates in the back of the left atrium in these structures called pulmonary veins. They trigger and they start to fire." says Dr. Brian Schuler who is the system lead for cardiac electric physiology with WellSpan. Dr. Schuler says this puts the atrium in a precarious situation causing the heart to quiver. "If you have chaotic quivering going on in the top of the heart, it leads to sluggish blood flow in certain places." says Dr. Schuler. And with AFib, clotting occurs in one particular spot within the heart. "The left atrial appendage is a little cul-de-sac off to the left atrium which is one of the four chambers of the heart. If blood pulls it has the tendency to clot and if you form a clot inside the blood stream inside the heart, it can leave the heart and travel upstream of the circulation and cause a stroke." says Dr. Stewart Benton who is the system lead for interventional cardiology with WellSpan. This is why blood thinners are used... to prevent clots. But there are side effects to blood thinners such as excessive bleeding. This is where the revolutionary alternative comes in. It's called The Watchman. "The device seals off entry of blood into that dead-end pouch. That cul-de-sac. So no blood gets past the device once it's fully healed." says Dr. Benton. "Sealing the place where the blood clots form and mechanically blocking it is the way that we can get around being on blood thinners. It's very effective and it's quite safe." says Dr. Schuler. Statistically, The Watchman device is huge in terms of efficacy. "Over 90 percent of strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation come from the left atrial appendage. So if you remove the left atrial appendage from the equation, you significantly reduce stroke risk." says Dr. Benton. And thanks to The Watchman device, that can be done.">
