Occlusion of left atria! appendage - New LAA-devices

摘要

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common form of cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with an increased risk of thromboembolic stroke of cardiac origin. The transcatheter occlusion of left atrial appendage (LAA) with a LAA-device cannot only be performed safely and with high success rate, but is simultaneously a good alternative to oral anticoagulation (OAC), in particular for AF-patients with contraindications for OAC, with high stroke risk and/or high bleeding risk, as well as for AF-patients who have a history of stroke and/or severe hemorrhage during OAC. This review concludes that the transcatheter occlusion of LAA is a good alternative to OAC, it prevents stroke in particular in patients who have problems with OAC. In the next years several new LAA occluders will come to the market. To answer the question, if technical differences and differences in technical implantation like leak at the device result in negative clinical outcome, long-term experience in greater number of patients is needed. The direct comparison LAA occlusion versus new OAC is also pending.