EXIRA, IA (KMTV) — It's harvest season and farmers are keeping busy all across the Heartland. One farmer in Exira, Iowa is doing his best to finish the season, all while dealing with multiple health issues. Now an innovative new heart procedure is sure to change his life for the better.
Alan Jensen has been a hard working farmer in Exira his entire life. But the years of hard work have put a strain on his body. Having arthritis in both of his knees, he relied heavily on pain killers for years. Then, his world turned upside down.
"Almost two years ago I had what you'd call a mini stroke, a TIA," Jensen said. "My speech was slurred for maybe three minutes but I went to the hospital and got checked out and they said, this is a warning sign."
Alan was diagnosed with having an irregular heartbeat, known as atrial fibrillation, or AFib.
CHI Health cardiologist Dr. Himanshu Agarwal explains that AFib is common for those older in age. He says about one to two percent of Americans older than 65 get it.
"Anybody who has AFib and has a high-risk factor for stroke needs a blood thinner for the rest of their lives," Dr. Agarwal said.
Jensen was immediately put on blood thinners to prevent blood clots and to prevent a serious stroke. However, while on blood thinners, he couldn't take pain medication for his painful arthritis while working on the farm.
"I mean I can't take ibuprofen, I can't take Aleve, I can't take turmeric, I can't take any anti-inflammatory because they interfere with blood thinners," Jensen said.
The one thing that could help him get off blood thinners and help him treat his arthritis all while protecting his heart, was an innovative device that fits in an appendage of the heart called the Watchman.
"The Watchman makes [Jensen's] life very easy. He can perform his daily activities as a farmer and he doesn't have to worry about cutting or getting bruised," Dr. Agarwal said.
Jensen got the Watchman put in last month at CHI Bergan Mercy. He hopes in a few weeks he'll be off the blood thinners, and back to work. Even at his ripe age of 71.
"Farmers don't retire. Some of them do maybe, but I have no intention of retiring," Jensen said.
CHI Health has now completed 200 Watchman procedures and is also serving as a clinical trial site for a new version of the device.
