1. Combining Watchman left atrial appendage closure and catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation: multicentre registry results of feasibility and safety during implant and 30 days follow-up
- Author
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Karen P. Phillips, Lucas V.A. Boersma, Kenneth M. Stein, Tamas Szili-Torok, Aleksandr Romanov, Sergey Artemenko, Gaetano Senatore, Richard J Folkeringa, Evgeny Pokushalov, Nicole Gordon, Omar Razali, and Cardiology
- Subjects
Male ,Percutaneous ,Septal Occluder Device ,medicine.medical_treatment ,030204 cardiovascular system & hematology ,Pericardial effusion ,Russia ,Postoperative Complications ,0302 clinical medicine ,Atrial Fibrillation ,Device occlusion ,Prospective Studies ,Registries ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Embolization ,Stroke ,Watchman ,Atrial fibrillation ,Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation ,Europe ,Catheter Ablation ,Cardiology ,Female ,Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine ,medicine.drug ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Asia ,Left atrial appendage ,Catheter ablation ,Postoperative Hemorrhage ,Pericardial Effusion ,Prosthesis Implantation ,Middle East ,03 medical and health sciences ,Clinical Research ,Physiology (medical) ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Humans ,Atrial Appendage ,Aged ,business.industry ,Australia ,Warfarin ,Cardiac Ablation ,medicine.disease ,Surgery ,Feasibility Studies ,business - Abstract
Aims Long-term results from catheter ablation therapy for atrial fibrillation (AF) remain uncertain and clinical practice guidelines recommend continuation of long-term oral anticoagulation in patients with a high stroke risk. Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) with Watchman has emerged as an alternative to long-term anticoagulation for patients accepting of the procedural risks. We report on the initial results of combining catheter ablation procedures for AF and LAAC in a multicentre registry. Methods and results Data were pooled from two prospective, real-world Watchman LAAC registries running in parallel in Europe/Middle-East/Russia (EWOLUTION) and Asia/Australia (WASP) between 2013 and 2015. Of the 1140 patients, 139 subjects at 10 centres underwent a concomitant AF ablation and LAAC procedure. The mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 3.4 ± 1.4 and HAS-BLED score 1.5 ± 0.9. Successful Watchman implantation was achieved in 100% of patients. The overall 30-day serious adverse event (SAE) rate was 8.7%, with the device and/or procedure-related SAE rate of 1.4%. One pericardial effusion required percutaneous drainage, but there were no strokes, device embolization, or deaths at 30 days. The 30-day bleeding SAE rate was 2.9% with 55% of patients prescribed NOAC and 38% taking warfarin post-procedure. Conclusion The outcomes from these international, multicentre registries support the feasibility and safety of performing combined procedures of ablation and Watchman LAAC for patients with non-valvular AF and high stroke risk. Further data are needed on long-term outcomes for the hybrid technique on all-cause stroke and mortality.
- Published
- 2018