Left Atrial Appendage Closure and the Figure-of-Eight Artifact

Left Atrial Appendage Closure and the Figure-of-Eight Artifact

Mailing Address: Silvio Henrique Barberato • Rua Rezala Simão, 1316/ Casa 28, Santa Quitéria. Postal Code 80330-180, Curitiba, PR – Brazil E-mail: [email protected] Manuscript received June 01, 2014; revised manuscript June 13, 2014; accepted June 13, 2014. After percutaneous left atrial appendage (LAA) closure with the Amplatzer cardiac plug (ACP), an intriguing image in the shape of the...

Figure-of-eight artifact after successful percutaneous closure of left atrial appendage.

Left atrial appendage closure.

Stroke prevention is the primary goal in atrial fibrillation (AF) given its clinical and socioeconomic impact. With AF, the prevalence of thromboembolic stroke continues to rise and there is an urgent need to develop better strategies of stroke prevention. Warfarin, although effective when used appropriately, is burdened by underutilization, narrow therapeutic windows, and life-threatening blee...

Left Atrial Appendage and Closure

Patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation have a 4to 5-fold increase in strokes and that rhythm may be responsible for 15% to 20% of all strokes, particularly in the elderly. In this setting, thrombus in the left atrial appendage has been found to be the source of stroke in 90% of cases. Although oral anticoagulants have been found effective in reducing stroke rates, for a variety of issues...

Left Atrial Appendage Closure Devices

Atrial fibrillation (AF) increases the risk for thromboembolic stroke five-fold. The left atrial appendage (LAA) has been shown to be the main source of thrombus formation in the majority of strokes associated with AF. Oral anticoagulation with warfarin and novel anticoagulants remains the standard of care; however, it has several limitations, including bleeding and poor compliance. Occlusion o...