Atritech has announced that its Watchman Left Atrial Appendage Closure technology will receive German reimbursement coverage beginning in 2011, and has been added to an existing G-DRG (German Diagnosis Related Group) code.

The Watchman device reduced rates of stroke, cardiovascular death and systemic embolism by 30 percent during the PROTECT AF [atrial fibrillation] clinical trial when it was compared to warfarin therapy (Coumadin, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi-Aventis) in AF patients, according to the Plymouth, Minn.-based company.