Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) is a procedure in which a plug is inserted in the area of the heart where blood clots could form and possibly cause strokes for patients with atrial ...

CHICAGO — In the OPTION trial, left atrial appendage closure resulted in similar thromboembolic protection but superior bleeding outcomes compared with oral anticoagulation among patients who ...

NEJM at AHA — Left Atrial Appendage Closure after Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation Authors: Eric J. Rubin, M.D., Ph.D., Jane Leopold, M.D., and Stephen Morrissey, Ph.D. Author Info & Affiliations ...

Among patients who underwent catheter-based atrial fibrillation ablation, left atrial appendage closure was associated with a lower risk of non–procedure-related major or clinically relevant ...

The acquisition expands Medtronic’s structural heart portfolio into left atrial appendage management for the first time. The field already counts other devices with similar functions developed ...

Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) is a procedure doctors can use to prevent blood clots that may lead to a stroke. It blocks off an area of the heart where up to 90% of blood clots form in ...

They randomly assigned 803 patients to left atrial appendage closure with the Watchman FLX device and 797 patients to oral anticoagulation therapy from November 2019 through June 2021.

So it goes with the left atrial appendage and heart surgery. A cardiac surgeon might say: why not take care of the left atrial appendage (LAA) while we are in there? It can't hurt. It can only help.

On the first day of the 2016 CardioStim sessions, I am happy to report a "positive" study on percutaneous left atrial appendage closure [1]. Notice I did not write Watchman.