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Review
. 2017 Mar 6:13:81-90.
doi: 10.2147/VHRM.S89213. eCollection 2017.

Novel stroke risk reduction in atrial fibrillation: left atrial appendage occlusion with a focus on the Watchman closure device

Arash Alipour  1 , Lisette I S Wintgens  1 , Martin J Swaans  1 , Jippe C Balt  1 , Benno J W M Rensing  1 , Lucas V A Boersma  1
Affiliations
Review

Novel stroke risk reduction in atrial fibrillation: left atrial appendage occlusion with a focus on the Watchman closure device

Arash Alipour et al. Vasc Health Risk Manag. .

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) remains an important clinical problem with severe complications such as stroke, which especially harms those with risk factors as calculated by the CHADS2 or CHA2DS2-VASc. Until now, no therapy has proven 100% effective against AF. Since the left atrial appendage (LAA) is the most prominent nonvalvular AF-related thromboembolic source and (novel) oral anticoagulant [(N)OAC] carries the hazard of bleeding, LAA occlusion may be an alternative, especially in patients who are ineligible for (N)OAC therapy. In this review, we discuss several LAA occlusion techniques with a focus on the Watchman device since this device is the most thoroughly studied device of all.

Keywords: atrial fibrillation; ischemic stroke; left atrial appendage.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Image of the positioning of the Watchman device in the left atrial appendage. Note: Different components and the relevant structures are noted. Abbreviation: PET, polyethylene terephthalate.
Figure 2
Figure 2
X-plane two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiographic images of the left atrium before (A) and 45 days after (B) successful occlusion of the left atrial appendage using the Watchman device.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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