Comparison of Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion versus Non-Vitamin-K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulation in High-Risk Atrial Fibrillation: An Update

• Main Authors: Shaojie Chen, K. R. Julian Chun, Zhiyu Ling, Shaowen Liu, Lin Zhu, Jiazhi Wang, Alexandra Schratter, Willem-Jan Acou, Márcio Galindo Kiuchi, Yuehui Yin, Boris Schmidt
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
• Series: Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease
• Subjects: atrial fibrillation; left atrial appendage occlusion; stroke; anticoagulation
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2308-3425/8/6/69

Transcatheter left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) is non-inferior to vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) in preventing thromboembolic events in atrial fibrillation (AF). Non-vitamin K antagonists (NOACs) have an improved safety profile over VKAs; however, evidence regarding their effect on cardiovascular and neurological outcomes relative to LAAO is limited. Up-to-date randomized trials or propensity-score-matched data comparing LAAO vs. NOACs in high-risk patients with AF were pooled in our study. A total of 2849 AF patients (LAAO: 1368, NOACs: 1481, mean age: 75 ± 7.5 yrs, 63.5% male) were enrolled. The mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 4.3 ± 1.7, and the mean HAS-BLED score was 3.4 ± 1.2. The baseline characteristics were comparable between the two groups. In the LAAO group, the success rate of device implantation was 98.8%. During a mean follow-up of 2 years, as compared with NOACs, LAAO was associated with a significant reduction of ISTH major bleeding (<i>p</i> = 0.0002). There were no significant differences in terms of ischemic stroke (<i>p</i> = 0.61), ischemic stroke/thromboembolism (<i>p</i> = 0.63), ISTH major and clinically relevant minor bleeding (<i>p</i> = 0.73), cardiovascular death (<i>p</i> = 0.63), and all-cause mortality (<i>p</i> = 0.71). There was a trend toward reduction of combined major cardiovascular and neurological endpoints in the LAAO group (OR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.64–1.11, <i>p</i> = 0.12). In conclusion, for high-risk AF patients, LAAO is associated with a significant reduction of ISTH major bleeding without increased ischemic events, as compared to “contemporary NOACs”. The present data show the superior role of LAAO over NOACs among high-risk AF patients in terms of reduction of major bleeding; however, more randomized controlled trials are warranted.