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Highlights cerebral embolic protection during left atrial appendage occlusion in anticoagulation-intolerant patients, indicating potential reductions in cardioembolic stroke risk.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia affecting more than 33 million people worldwide. Patients with AF are at an increased risk of cardioembolic stroke, making oral anticoagulation the standard of care in this patient population. However, a significant proportion of patients with AF are unable to tolerate anticoagulation. Endocardial left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) using the WATCHMAN device (Boston Scientific, Marlborough, MA) was approved by the FDA in patients who are not suitable for long-term anticoagulation.
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Panaich et al. (2020) studied this question.
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