Editorial to “Association of Left Atrial Appendage Morphology and Function with Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack in Atrial Fibrillation Patients”

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most commonly encountered arrhythmia in clinical practice and is an independent risk factor for strokes. A thromboembolic event risk assessment based on the CHA2DS2-VASc score is recommended by the guidelines. However, strokes also occur even in some populations with low CHA2DS2-VASc scores. Thus, new factors to improve the risk stratification of thromboembolic events are needed. A major embolic source associated with AF is the left atrial appendage (LAA). Previous reports showed that the LAA endocardium has more enhanced expression of a prothrombotic profile and proinflammatory proteins than the right atrial appendage (RAA), indicating a more elevated thrombogenicity of the LAA than the RAA.
Source: The American Journal of Cardiology - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research