Loading...
Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) offers hope to reduce the risk for embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation, without the use of anticoagulation. Five-year follow-up of two prior randomized trials showed that anticoagulation was equivalent with warfarin or LAAO procedures performed with the Watchman device (NEJM JW Cardiol Feb 2018 and J Am Coll Cardiol 2017; 70:2964). However, the number of patients in these studies was limited.
Following FDA approval of the Watchman in 2015, the Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion Registry was established to collect data on patients undergoing percutaneous LAAO for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Now, investigators have reported data from the registry on 38,158 Watchman procedures performed in the …