Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Oct 19:37:100893.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijcha.2021.100893. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Comparison between Amulet and Watchman left atrial appendage closure devices: A real-world, single center experience

Mohammed Saad  1   2 , Osama Risha  3   2 , Makoto Sano  3   2 , Thomas Fink  4   3   2 , Christian-Hendrik Heeger  3   2 , Julia Vogler  3   2 , Vanessa Sciacca  3   2 , Charlotte Eitel  3   2 , Thomas Stiermaier  4   2 , Alexander Joost  4   2 , Ahmad Keelani  3   2 , Georg Fuernau  4   2 , Roza Meyer-Saraei  4   3   2 , Karl-Heinz Kuck  3   2 , Ingo Eitel  4   2 , Roland Richard Tilz  3   2
Affiliations

Comparison between Amulet and Watchman left atrial appendage closure devices: A real-world, single center experience

Mohammed Saad et al. Int J Cardiol Heart Vasc. .

Abstract

Background: Data reporting a head-to-head comparison between Amulet and Watchman devices are scarce. The aim of this study was to compare the Watchman™ versus Amulet™ left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) devices in a consecutive, industry-independent registry.

Methods: Patients who underwent LAAC using Watchman or Amulet devices from January 2014 to December 2019 at the University Heart Center Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany were included in the present analysis. Primary endpoints included periprocedural complications (in-hospital death, pericardial tamponade, device embolization, stroke, major bleeding and vascular access complications), and complications during long-term follow-up (ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, thromboembolism, device thrombus, bleeding and death).

Results: After matching the patients for age (±5 years), gender, CHA2DS2Vasc score (±1) and HASBLED score (±1), each of the Watchman and the Amulet groups included 113 patients. Patients in the Amulet group had significantly more periprocedural complications (2.7% vs 10.6%, p = 0.029; respectively) and more major bleeding complications (0% vs 5.3%, p = 0.029; respectively). During long-term follow-up, the rate of events was comparable between the Watchman and Amulet groups (18.3% versus 20.8%, p = 0.729; respectively).

Conclusion: Amulet LAAC device was associated with increased periprocedural complications as compared to Watchman LAAC device. On long-term follow-up, both devices showed comparable efficacy and safety.

Keywords: ACP, Amplatzer Cardiac Plug; AF, Atrial fibrillation; Amulet; Anti-coagulation; Atrial fibrillation; LAA, Left atrial appendage; LAAC, Left atrial appendage closure; Left atrial appendage closure; MACCE, major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events; OAC, Oral anticoagulants; TEE, transesophageal echocardiography; Watchman.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: RRT: consultant to Boston Scientific, speaker‘s bureau: Boston Scientific, Abbot Medical. MS: proctor in Boston Scientific for Watchman 2.5 and Watchman FLX. All other authors declare no competing financial and/or non-financial interests in relation to the work described.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Study flow chart. LAAC: left atrial appendage closure.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Kaplan-Meier graph showing long-term follow-up of cumulative major adverse cardiovascular and cerebral event rates according to Watchman and Amulet left atrial appendage colure devices.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rahman F., Kwan G.F., Benjamin E.J. Global epidemiology of atrial fibrillation. Nat. Rev. Cardiol. 2014;11:639–654. - PubMed
    1. Go A.S., Hylek E.M., Phillips K.A. Prevalence of diagnosed atrial fibrillation in adults: national implications for rhythm management and stroke prevention: the AnTicoagulation and Risk Factors in Atrial Fibrillation (ATRIA) Study. JAMA. 2001;285:2370–2375. - PubMed
    1. Kirchhof P., Benussi S., Kotecha D. 2016 ESC Guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation developed in collaboration with EACTS. Eur. Heart J. 2016;37:2893–2962. - PubMed
    1. Hart R.G., Benavente O., McBride R., Pearce L.A. Antithrombotic therapy to prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation: a meta-analysis. Ann. Intern. Med. 1999;131:492–501. - PubMed
    1. Risk factors for stroke and efficacy of antithrombotic therapy in atrial fibrillation. Analysis of pooled data from five randomized controlled trials. Arch. Intern. Med. 1994;154:1449–57. Erratum in: Arch Intern Med 1994;154:2254. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources