AntiPlatelet theraPy stratEgy followiNg Left Atrial appenDAGe closurE

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Description

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia and increases the risk of ischemic stroke. Although oral anticoagulation (OAC) is recommended in patients with CHADS2VA2SC score ? 1, this medication is associated with severe haemorrhagic complications. Several trials showed that perc...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia and increases the risk of ischemic stroke. Although oral anticoagulation (OAC) is recommended in patients with CHADS2VA2SC score ? 1, this medication is associated with severe haemorrhagic complications. Several trials showed that percutaneous LAAC with the Watchman device (Boston Scientific, Natick, Massachusetts) or the Amplatzer Cardiac Plug (ACP) /Amulet device (St. Jude Medical, Minneapolis, Minnesota) was shown to be non-inferior but also superior as compared to warfarin in preventing the combined outcome of stroke, systemic embolism, and cardiovascular death. Therefore, LAAC has become an integral part of treatment guidelines in AF patients. However, the post procedural management of antithrombotic therapy in these patients remains a challenge, as bleeding risk needs to be balanced against risk for thrombus formation on the device and thromboembolic complications. After LAAC, various antithrombotic protocols have been proposed by different teams but the optimal postprocedural antithrombotic medication and its duration are still debated. The Investigators recently showed in a prospective registry that LAAC using ACP devices followed by a single antiplatelet therapy could be a reasonable alternative for stroke prevention in patients with high bleeding risk. The APPENDAGE study is a phase 4 multicentre randomized opened clinical trial comparing 2 different antithrombotic strategies (aspirin versus aspirin + clopidogrel) following LAAC. The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of these 2 strategies after LAAC by comparing the occurrence of ischemic lesions on cerebrovascular MRI studies performed immediately after the procedure (D 0) and after 3 months of follow-up.

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