• Michael Killian, James O'Regan, Ruth Torre, and Crochan J O' Sullivan.
• Bon Secours Hospital, College Road, Cork, Ireland. 111344501@umail.ucc.ie.
• Ir J Med Sci. 2023 Dec 1; 192 (6): 270727122707-2712.

BackgroundAtrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and is a major risk factor for stroke, with an incidence rate of 4-5% per year. The use of DOACs is recommended for specific patient populations however the risk of bleeding commonly precludes their use. Left atrial appendage occlusion is a relatively novel procedure recommended for such patients. We set out to analyse the initial success and safety of this procedure in a single site.ResultsTwenty patients were included in the study with an average age of 81 years. Seventy percent (n = 14) were male. Ninety percent (n = 18) had a history of major bleeding, an absolute contraindication to anticoagulation. The mean CHADS2VaSc and HASBLED scores were 4.75 and 3.7, respectively. The technical success rate was 95% comparable with existing data. The procedural success rate in our study was 80%. The most frequent complication was cardiac tamponade, occurring in 10% of cases.ConclusionWe report lower technical success and procedural success rates in an older population cohort than historically studied, 90% of whom had an absolute contraindication to oral anticoagulation, with higher CHADS2VaSc and HASBLED scores than commonly studied.© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.

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