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Clinical Outcomes following Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion: A Single-Center Experience

Introduction: Percutaneous left atrial appendage closure is an established alternative to anticoagulation therapy for stroke prophylaxis among patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. There are currently no guidelines on the choice of antithrombotic therapy following placement of the Watchman® device, the optimal time to discontinue anticoagulation or the duration of follow-up imaging after device deployment. Our main objective was to evaluate clinical outcomes among these patients. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of patients who received a Watchman® device at Mayo Clinic sites between January 2010 and December 2018. We constructed Cox-proportional hazard models to evaluate the effect of specific variables on clinical outcomes. Results: 231 patients were identified (33% female), median age was 77 years, CHA2DS2-VASc score was 5 and HASBLED score was 4. We found no difference in clinically significant bleeding based on initial antithrombotic choice. However, patients with prior gastrointestinal bleeding were more likely to have a bleeding event in the first 6 weeks following Watchman® implantation (HR 9.40, 95% CI 2.15–41.09). Device sizes of 24–27 mm were significantly associated with a decreased risk of thromboembolic events (HR 0.15, 95% CI 0.04–0.55) compared to 21-mm devices. Peridevice leak (PDL) sizes appeared to either remain the same or increase on follow-up imaging. Discussion/Conclusions: This observational study showed no statistically significant difference in bleeding risk related to initial antithrombotic choice. Smaller device sizes were associated with thromboembolic events, and longitudinal PDL assessment using transesophageal echocardiography showed these frequently do not decrease in size. Larger studies are needed.