For the first time, the heart team at the Hospital Particular de Alvor performed, through percutaneous intervention (through the groin and without resorting to surgery), the closure of the left atrial appendage.
Atrial fibrillation is a very common arrhythmia and is related to high rates of morbidity and mortality due to its thromboembolic potential and the consequent risk of a cerebrovascular accident (CVA). The left atrial appendage (LAA) is a small bag-shaped structure located in the left atrium and is responsible for the formation of most thrombus associated with atrial fibrillation, which may later embolize (migrate) and cause a stroke.
In this procedure (LAA closure), a device is placed at the entrance to the left atrial appendage, closing it (“excluding” it), with the aim of reducing the risk of embolization of thrombus formed in the LAA and consequently reducing the risk of stroke caused by atrial fibrillation.
Oral anticoagulants are the first-line treatment for these patients. However, it is not always possible to administer this medication as some patients have contraindications, leaving them at an increased risk of stroke.
The selection of patients for this procedure is carried out using strict criteria, namely patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation who have a contraindication or intolerance to oral anticoagulants, patients with a high bleeding risk, or a history of bleeding, and also those with suboptimal therapy with oral anticoagulants. With this new procedure, this group of patients has another possibility of treatment to reduce their risk of having a stroke.
It should be noted that the Hospital Particular do Algarve – Alvor has been one of the references for Intervention Cardiology in the national panorama of private medicine since 2001, where minimally invasive interventions by catheterization, such as angioplasties or percutaneous implantation of aortic or mitral valves (a technique known as TAVI, Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation), are performed.
12, April 2024
