AccScience Publishing / BH / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/bh.4018
REVIEW

Minimalist approach to left atrial appendage occlusion through three-dimensional intracardiac echocardiography: Procedural steps and single-center experience

Ashok Chaudhary1* John Trovato2 Ragitha Subodh1
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1 Division of Cardiology, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Jersey, United States of America
2 Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Jersey, United States of America
Submitted: 22 June 2024 | Accepted: 30 August 2024 | Published: 18 October 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structural Heart Disease: Recent Updates)
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most prevalent arrhythmia worldwide, is associated with an annual risk of ischemic stroke of up to 5%, with approximately 98% of thrombi originating from the left atrial appendage (LAA). Direct oral anticoagulants or vitamin K antagonists remain the gold standard for preventing systemic thromboembolism in patients with AF. LAA occlusion (LAAO) is an alternative stroke prevention technique for patients with AF who cannot tolerate long-term anticoagulation. Percutaneous LAAO typically employs a multimodal imaging approach with contrast fluoroscopy and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) for visualization, device selection and deployment, and complication monitoring. TEE is also used for follow-up imaging. However, it necessitates general anesthesia or deep sedation and is associated with a high risk of adverse events. Three-dimensional intracardiac echocardiography (3D ICE) has been proposed as a viable alternative to TEE for LAAO procedures. In this review, we summarized the current evidence regarding ICE guidance in LAAO procedures. We also presented a case series of consecutive patients presenting at our center who underwent LAAO, which was performed by a single operator using a minimalist approach of moderate sedation, 3D ICE, and same-day discharge. We also presented a summary of the minimalist approach to LAAO using 3D ICE and detailed procedural steps of 3D ICE catheter manipulation for successful LAAO intervention.

Keywords
Left atrial appendage occlusion
Intracardiac echocardiography
Transesophageal echocardiography
Watchman
Atrial fibrillation
Stroke
Oral anticoagulation
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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Brain & Heart, Electronic ISSN: 2972-4139 Published by AccScience Publishing