Percutaneous devices for left atrial appendage occlusion: A contemporary review.

Percutaneous devices for left atrial appendage occlusion: A contemporary review. World J Cardiol. 2019 Feb 26;11(2):57-70 Authors: Moussa Pacha H, Al-Khadra Y, Soud M, Darmoch F, Moussa Pacha A, Alraies MC Abstract Patient with atrial fibrillation (AF) are at risk of developing stroke with the left atrial appendage (LAA) being the most common site for thrombus formation. If left untreated, AF is associated with 4 to 5 folds increase in the risk of ischemic stroke in all age groups. About 5% to 15% of AF patients have atrial thrombi on transesophageal echocardiography, and 91% of those thrombi are located in the LAA in patient with nonrheumatic AF. Although oral anticoagulants are the gold-standard treatment for stroke prevention in patients with non-valvular AF, some patients are at high risk of bleeding and deemed not candidates for anticoagulation. Therefore, LAA occlusion (LAAO) has emerged as alternative approach for stroke prevention in those patients. Surgical LAAO is associated with high rate of unsuccessful closure and recommended only in patients with AF and undergoing cardiac surgery. Percutaneous LAAO uses transvenous access with trans-septal puncture and was first tested using the PLAATO device. Watchman is the most common and only Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved device for LAAO. LAAO using Watchman device is non-inferior to warfarin therapy in preventing ischemic stroke/systemic thromboembolism. However, it i...
Source: World Journal of Cardiology - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: World J Cardiol Source Type: research