Left atrial appendage occlusion: a decade of evidence

• Main Authors: Ignacio Cruz-González, David González-Calle
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Permanyer 2021-05-01
• Series: REC: Interventional Cardiology (English Ed.)
• Online Access: https://recintervcardiol.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=609

Over the last few years, left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) has gained traction in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation as an alternative to oral anticoagulation to prevent cerebral infarction, especially in patients with some sort of contraindication to these drugs.1 In an article published in REC: Interventional Cardiology, Ruiz-Salmerón et al.2 describe their experience using this technique during the last 10 years. This publication gives us the opportunity to review the cumulative scientific evidence available in this regard that has justified its exponential growth. In the last national registry published in the United States, the number of physicians and hospitals that perform this intervention has gone from 30 to over 1200 and from 20 to over 400, respectively, within the last 2 years.3 In Spain, according to the registry published by the Interventional Cardiology Association of the Spanish Society of Cardiology,...