Real-Time Pathophysiologic Correlates of Left Atrial Appendage Thrombus in Patients Undergoing Transesophageal-Guided Electrical Cardioversion for Atrial Fibrillation

Although current guidelines advocate using the CHA2DS2-VASc score to assess the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), compared with transesophageal echocardiographic (TEE), its ability to predict left atrial appendage thrombus (LAAT) is limited. We studied 3,324 consecutive patients with sustained AF from our prospective registry of patients undergoing first-time TEE-guided electrical cardioversion (ECV) from May 2000 through March 2012. The association of CHA2DS2-VASc score or TEE risk factors with the occurrence of LAAT was analyzed.

Source: The American Journal of Cardiology - March 13, 2018 Category: Cardiology Authors: Rowlens M. Melduni, Bernard J. Gersh, Waldemar E. Wysokinski, Naser M. Ammash, Paul A. Friedman, David O. Hodge, Krishnaswamy Chandrasekaran, Jae K. Oh, Hon-Chi Lee Source Type: research