PINEHURST, N.C. -- Up until last March, Marvin Covault felt like he was the healthiest person on earth. Life on his farm near Southern Pines was quiet and full of routine that he loved.
“I’d never been sick, never been in a hospital,” Covault, 85, said with a chuckle. “I never had anything wrong with me.”
One evening, everything about his healthy life changed more quickly than he could have imagined. “I was watching TV and suddenly felt completely disoriented,” Marvin recalled. “I didn’t know where I was or what was going on.”
Concerned, he and his family headed to the emergency room at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst.
What Marvin learned that night was shocking: his blood pressure had spiked to 196/90, and scans revealed he had suffered a small stroke a year or two earlier.
“The stroke had impacted my balance, which I knew I was having some balance problems,” Covault said. “I definitely had no idea about the stroke.”
Understanding AFib and Why it Increases Stroke Risk
In the coming months, Marvin began experiencing repeated instances of atrial fibrillation (AFib), a condition that dramatically increases stroke risk. AFib is the most common type of arrhythmia in adults with increasing incidence with age, causing the heart to beat too quickly.
Symptoms of AFib can vary, with some feeling heart palpitations, dizziness, fatigue, chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating and weakness.
“I had three different doctors tell me in one day that I was high risk for a stroke,” Marvin said
Fitted with a heart monitor in the weeks after his hospital visit, Covault began to learn more, including the real reason behind what he perceived as acid reflux.
“I would wake up in the night three to four times a year with what I thought was reflux, take some over-the-counter medicines and go back to bed. This happened again while I was wearing the monitor, and the next morning I got a call early telling me I had an instance of AFib,” he said.
“I concluded that I had probably been experiencing AFib for years, and that was a scary moment.”
Exploring WATCHMAN as a Solution
As Marvin’s journey with FirstHealth’s heart care team continued, he met with Dr. Mark Landers, a board-certified electrophysiologist at FirstHealth.
Marvin admits he knew little about AFib or the left atrial appendage—the small pouch in the heart where blood clots often form.
“I had a great appointment with Dr. Landers. He’s a very busy guy, but he took the time for us to sit down, and we talked,” Covault said.
Dr. Landers introduced Covault to the WATCHMAN device, a minimally invasive implant designed to reduce stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation similar to those who are on long-term blood-thinning medications such as warfarin, Xarelto, Eliquis, or Pradaxa.
“Marvin had suffered stroke-like symptoms, and on brain imaging was found to have two areas of bleeding on the surface of the brain, along with signs of a previous stroke,” Landers said.
“He was at higher risk of having a serious spontaneous brain bleed - intracranial hemorrhage - if he were to continue to take blood-thinning medications long-term. FirstHealth Neurology had evaluated him and determined that he could take a short-term course of blood-thinning medications. After evaluation and discussion, he was felt to be a good candidate for WATCHMAN with a specialized heart CT scan confirming that his left atrial appendage could be closed."
What to Expect During the WATCHMAN Procedure
After several additional AFib episodes, Marvin was scheduled for the WATCHMAN procedure in July 2025. He said the day of the surgery at Reid Heart Center could not have gone better.
“I was there all morning, and I didn’t know quite what was going to happen,” he says. “Then I went to sleep, woke up, and felt completely normal - no pain at all. I also felt very relieved.”
Marvin stayed overnight and was home by noon the next day. “I was flabbergasted by the level of technology and the professionalism of everyone involved,” he says. “It wasn’t something done to me — it was something done for me.”
Landers said Covault’s experience and recovery are typical for WATCHMAN patients.
“Typically, patients are discharged the day after surgery. Because we are using venous access to the heart, there is a lower chance of bleeding complications following the procedure,” Landers said.
“We recommend patients avoid any heavy lifting or strenuous activity for about a week before resuming normal activities.”
Life After WATCHMAN
Since the procedure, Marvin hasn’t experienced any stroke or mini-stroke-like symptoms. While he still manages some balance issues from his earlier stroke, he feels relieved and grateful as he will only be on a low dose of Aspirin to further reduce his risk for spontaneous brain bleeding.
“Other than being in and out of the hospital a few times, it’s been an enlightening adventure,” he says. “I’m your biggest fan right now.”
Learn More about WATCHMAN at FirstHealth'd Reid Heart Center
The WATCHMAN procedure is helping patients like Marvin reduce their stroke risk and reclaim peace of mind. To learn more about WATCHMAN and other advanced heart care options at FirstHealth’s Reid Heart Center, visit www.FirstHealth.org/Heart.
