Left Atrial Appendage Closure

At Risk for stroke but can’t take blood thinners?

Atrial Fibrillation, or A Fib, is one of the most common types of abnormal heart rhythms. Having an abnormal heart rhythm can make the blood pump through the heart less effectively, causing stagnation or pooling, which can lead to the forming of blood clots. Forming blood clots can lead to an increased risk of stroke. In fact, people who have A Fib are at 3-5 times greater risk of having a stroke.  Up to 90% of the blood clots that cause a stroke in people who have A Fib come from one particular area of the heart – the Left Atrial Appendage.

The Left Atrial Appendage is a small sac-like pouch, present on the wall of the top chamber of the heart. Because of its grooved texture, the area inside the appendage can be the perfect place for a clot to form when the heart beats out of rhythm. When A Fib is detected, patients will take blood-thinning medications to prevent these potential clots from occurring. However, for some patients, taking blood thinner medications can cause unwanted side effects, such as bleeding.

For patients who have A Fib, and are at risk for stroke but cannot take blood thinner medications, it is possible to implant a small device into the Left Atrial Appendage and seal the potentially problematic area off from the rest of the heart. During a Left Atrial Appendage Closure procedure, while asleep, the device can be delivered to the heart through a small tube from the vein in the leg in about an hour.

Most patients feel fully recovered by the next day, and can resume their normal activities within a week. As the device heals into place, the body grows tissue over the device, which closes off the appendage and protects from strokes that could be caused from A Fib. In studies, closing off the appendage with a device protects from stroke just at well as taking a blood thinning medications.