Many readers have contacted me to ask whether my negative viewson left atrial appendage occlusion with Watchman have changed since 2017. The short answer is no. My views are even more negative today. In 2016, I published an editorial on theHeart.org | Medscape Cardiology arguing that this procedure should stop. One of the rebuttals was that […]
Left Atrial Appendage Closure Does Not Prevent Strokes
Our cautionary left atrial appendage occlusion (Watchman) editorial is now published in a prominent medical journal, called Heart Rhythm. My co-authors are Drs. Andrew Foy and Gerald Naccarelli from Penn State. It was a peer-reviewed version of my previous theheart.org | Medscape Cardiology column. Watchman and other similar devices are plugs that occlude the left atrial […]
New Data Increase Caution on Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion
I remain concerned about the irrational exuberance among some of my colleagues toward left atrial appendage occlusion devices for the prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. In short, these devices are plugs that doctors place into the left atrial appendage. The idea is to stop clots from forming or escaping from the left […]
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