title: Percutaneous closure of the left atrial appendage for thromboembolic prevention in atrial fibrillation.
abstract: Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia in clinical practice. It is associated with high morbidity and mortality due to its thromboembolic potential, which makes thromboembolic prevention particularly important. Warfarin has been the first-line therapy for this purpose, but it has various limitations and is often contraindicated or underutilized. The fact that thrombi are frequently located in the left atrial appendage in atrial fibrillation led to the development of percutaneous closure for thromboembolic prevention. This article examines the current evidence on percutaneous closure of the left atrial appendage by reviewing the results of the numerous clinical trials on the technique.
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Cardiologia, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra-Centro Hospitalar de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal. anacatarina.faustino@gmail.com
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Faustino
authors.forename: Luís
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Paiva
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Providência
authors.forename: Romeu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cação
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: António
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leitão-Marques
mesh_terms: D020517:Atrial Appendage / Q000601:surgery*; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000150:complications*; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D055989:Septal Occluder Device; D013923:Thromboembolism / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*