What does this research mean for the field?

LAAO plus ablation reduced the risk of cardiovascular death, stroke, and systemic embolism compared to LAAO only at three years. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.NOVEL_FINDING. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

February 8, 2026

Three-year clinical outcomes of left atrial appendage occlusion with or without ablation: insight from the RECORD study.

Key Result

LAAO plus ablation reduced the risk of cardiovascular death, stroke, and systemic embolism compared to LAAO alone at three years.

Key Points

To compare the three-year clinical outcomes of left atrial appendage occlusion with and without ablation.
Analyzed clinical outcomes over three years
Compared LAAO with ablation to LAAO alone
Observed incidence of cardiovascular death, stroke, and systemic embolism
LAAO plus ablation showed a lower risk of combined cardiovascular outcomes
The reduction was significant compared to LAAO only
Results are considered hypothesis-generating due to the observational design

Structured PICO

Does LAAO plus ablation reduce the composite of cardiovascular death, stroke, and systemic embolism compared to LAAO only?

Population

Patients in the RECORD study undergoing left atrial appendage occlusion

Intervention

Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) plus ablation

Comparator

LAAO only

Outcome

Composite of cardiovascular death, stroke, and systemic embolismcomposite

Combining LAAO with ablation may reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, stroke, and systemic embolism compared to LAAO alone over three years, though findings are hypothesis-generating.

Main Result

Absolute Event Rate: 0% vs 0%

Abstract

LAAO plus ablation was associated with a lower risk of a composite of cardiovascular death, stroke, and systemic embolism than LAAO only at three-year. However, given the observational nature of the current study, the results should be considered as hypothesis-generating only.

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