Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation in Combination With Left Atrial Appendage Closure: First Results of a Feasibility Study

摘要

BackgroundDrug-refractory atrial fibrillation (AF) increasingly is being treated with catheter ablation. However, the long-term success rate, expressed as freedom from AF, is <50%. Therefore, vitamin K antagonists, with all their complications, remain necessary. Recently, left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion devices were introduced as an alternative to vitamin K antagonists. Here, we investigated whether AF ablation and LAA occlusion could be a feasible and safe combination in patients with symptomatic drug-refractory AF and a CHADS2 score ≥1 or a contraindication for vitamin K antagonists.