Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion: What the Practising Physician Should Know.

Non-valvular AF is a common clinical condition associated with an increased risk of thromboembolic complications. As a consequence, oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT) is the cornerstone of non-valvular AF management. Despite the well-established efficacy of OAT, many patients cannot receive this preventive therapy due to bleeding or a high risk of bleeding. The fact that more than 90% of thrombi are formed in the left atrial appendage has led to the development of alternative methods to reduce the embolic risk. Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) is a non-pharmacological option for preventing cardioembolic events in patients with non-valvular AF with a contraindication to OAT. The demand for LAAO procedures is growing exponentially and clinicians should consider this alternative option when managing patients with a contraindication to OAT. This review summarises the current thinking about LAAO.

Some good reasons to proceed with the occlusion of the auricle.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia. The most fearful complication of AF is represented by cardio-embolic stroke and 30% of ischaemic strokes are attributable to AF. The prevention of cardio-embolic risk is therefore based on oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT). Some categories of patients do not benefit from OAT. These are patients at increased bleeding risk and with varying degrees of contraindication to long-term anticoagulant therapy. On the opposite are those patients who develop an embolic event related to AF despite a well-conducted OAT. These types of patients benefit from an interventional approach, percutaneous closure of the left auricle (LAAO), aimed at eliminating what is the primary source of AF-related thrombo-embolism, precisely the left auricle. Percutaneous closure of the left auricle has proven to be an effective and safe procedure, significantly reducing the bleeding risks of patients who, after the procedure, will no longer have to take OAT. Furthermore, it has been shown to be effective in reducing cardio-embolic risk. Uncertainty still remains as to what is the optimal antithrombotic therapy after LAAO. In any case, LAAO represents a valid alternative to OAT for those patients in whom it is contraindicated or ineffective.

Stent Dislodgment and Retrieval During Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

During PCI, stent entrapment and dislodgment in the coronary arteries is a rare but potentially fatal complication that can lead to emergent cardiac surgery. Percutaneous stent retrieval is an alternative way to solve this challenging complication while avoiding cardiac surgery.

Device-related complications after Impella mechanical circulatory support implantation: an IMP-IT observational multicentre registry substudy.

AIMS: To report the incidence, the predictors and clinical impact of device-related complications (DRCs) in the IMP-IT (IMPella Mechanical Circulatory Support Device in Italy) registry. Impella is percutaneous left ventricular assist devices, which provides mechanical circulatory support both in cardiogenic shock (CS) and high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (HR-PCI). The IMP-IT registry is a multicentre registry evaluating the trends in use and clinical outcomes of Impella in Italy. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 406 patients have been included in this registry: 56.4% in the setting of CS, while 43.6% patients in the setting of HR-PCI. DRCs were defined as a composite endpoint of access-site bleeding, limb ischaemia, vascular complication requiring treatment, haemolysis, aortic injury, and left ventricular perforation. DRC incidence in the overall population was 25.6%, with significantly higher rate in the CS (37.1%) than in the HR-PCI (10.7%) group. The most frequent complication was haemolysis (11.8%), which occurred almost exclusively in CS population. Access-site bleeding was observed in 9.6% of the overall population, with no significant difference between the two groups. Limb ischaemia was observed in 8.3% of the overall population, with significantly higher rate in the CS group. CS and right ventricular dysfunction appear as the strongest independent predictors of DRC. One-year mortality in patients with DRC appears higher than in patients with no DRC. However, DRC was not confirmed as an independent predictor of 1-year mortality at multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: In the IMP-IT registry, the rate of DRC was 25.6%, with CS being the strongest independent predictor. DRC was not found as an independent predictor of 1-year mortality.