A NORTH-EAST hospital is one of 10 centres in the UK which will pioneer a new heart procedure to prevent strokes.

More than 5,500 people have a stroke every year in the North-East but it is hoped that the new sieve-like Watchman device will prevent strokes and reduce the number of lives lost.

Along with nine other centres, the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle will be implanting the device in patients who are suffering an irregular heartbeat - known as atrial fibrillation.

It works by sealing off the small pocket-like structures in the heart where the vast majority of clots form.

Known as left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) treatment, the Watchman LAAC device is not routinely available on the NHS at present.

But evidence from the 10 centre trial will be used to assess its effectiveness as a treatment and its cost-effectiveness for the NHS.

Teams at the Freeman will begin implanting the device today (Monday, November 3).

The Watchman measures between two and three centimetres across and works by preventing blood clots in the heart being pumped through the blood vessels to the brain, causing a stroke.

Once it is implanted the Watchman holds any clots in the heart and never needs to be replaced.

After several months the device is actually incorporated into the heart’s wall.

An earlier trial has shown that the device is as effective as the drug warfarin in preventing stroke, which means there is now an alternative to taking a daily drug.

Dr David Crossland, consultant paediatric and adult congenital cardiologist at the Freeman said: “In the first instance, blood-thinning drugs will be the solution for many, but for those who cannot take them, or those with important side effects then I hope local patients will come forward to be considered for a Watchman implant.”

Former patient Colonel Stanley Rogers had the Watchman implanted as part of an emergency procedure carried out at the Freeman in July 2013.

Col Rogers said: "Repeated bleeding and emergency admission to hospital led to me coming off the warfarin drugs. I received my Watchman implant last year and my life has been transformed, with freedom from stroke and recurrence of intestinal bleeding. I am at a lower risk of stroke and free from the intestinal bleeding, with no need for warfarin."

Trudie Lobbon, of the Atrial Fibrillation Association said the Watchman trial was “excellent news".