Minimally invasive left atrial appendage ligation in an animal model

Evaluation of: Lee RJ, Bartus K, Yakubov SJ: Catheter-based left atrial appendage (LAA) ligation for the prevention of embolic events arising from the LAA: initial experience in a canine model.Circ. Cardiovasc. Interv. 3(3), 224–229 (2010). Stroke is the most common reason for permanent disability in the developing world. Nearly 15% of all strokes can be attributed to atrial fibrillation. The overwhelming majority of thrombi related to atrial fibrillation occur in the left atrial appendage. Although conventional preventive treatment with anticoagulation substantially reduces stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation, owing to the associated bleeding risk and frequent failure to maintain a therapeutic range, many patients are either untreated or treated suboptimally. Therefore, alternative treatment strategies have been explored recently. Pharmacologic alternatives include direct thrombin inhibitors, novel vitamin K antagonists and Factor Xa antagonists. Although some agents, particularly thrombin a...