SCAI and HRS Publish Expert Consensus on Transcatheter Left Atrial Appendage Closure

March 27, 2023—The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) and the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) announced the publication of an updated expert consensus statement on transcatheter left atrial appendage closure (LAAC).

According to the press release, SCAI and HRS prioritized the development of an updated consensus statement to provide recommendations on contemporary, evidence-based best practices for transcatheter LAAC focusing on endovascular devices. The American College for Cardiology and the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography endorsed the statement.

The updated consensus statement is available online in JSCAI.

The chair of the writing group is Jacqueline Saw, MD, an interventional cardiologist at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) and St Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, Canada, and Clinical Professor of Medicine at University of British Columbia, and Program Director of the VGH Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program.

"This consensus statement demonstrates the evolvement of LAAC treatment since our first statements that were issued in 2015 and 2016," commented Dr. Saw in the press release. "Since then, the results from several important clinical trials and registries, as well as other technological and clinical advancements have evolved and changed the way we look at operator requirements, patient selection, and shared decision making, which explains the need for this updated guidance."

SCAI and HRS provided the following summary of recommendations from the statement:

1. Transcatheter LAAC is appropriate for patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation with high thromboembolic risk who are not suited for long-term oral anticoagulation and who have adequate life expectancy.

2.1. Physicians performing LAAC should have prior experience, including ≥ 50 prior left-sided ablations or structural procedures and ≥ 25 transseptal punctures (TSPs). Interventional imaging physicians should have experience in guiding ≥ 25 TSPs before supporting any LAAC procedures independently.

2.2. For maintenance of skills, implanting physicians should perform ≥ 25 TSPs and > 12 LAACs over each 2-year period.

2.3. New programs and implanting physicians early in their LAAC experience should have on-site cardiovascular surgery backup.

3. Baseline imaging with transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) or cardiac computed tomography is recommended before LAAC.

4. Intraprocedural imaging guidance with TEE or intracardiac echocardiography is recommended.

5. Technical aspects of the procedure, including venous access, anticoagulation, transseptal puncture, delivery sheath selection and placement, left atrial pressure measurement, and device deployment, should be performed in accordance with the labeling of each specific LAAC device.

6. Operators need to be familiar with avoidance, recognition, and management of procedural complications associated with LAAC.

7. Predischarge imaging should be performed with two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography to rule out pericardial effusion and device embolization.

8. Device-related thrombus should be treated with anticoagulation.

9. Routine closure of iatrogenic atrial septal defects associated with LAAC should not be performed.

10. The clinical impact and management of peridevice leaks are not fully understood, and all efforts should be made to minimize such leaks at the time of implantation.

11. Patients should be prescribed antithrombotic therapy with warfarin, direct oral anticoagulants, or dual antiplatelet therapy after LAAC according to the studied regimen and instructions for use for each specific device and tailored to the bleeding risks of each patient.

12. TEE or cardiac computed tomography is recommended at 45 to 90 days after LAAC for device surveillance to assess for peridevice leak and device-related thrombus.

13. Combined procedures with LAAC (eg, structural interventions, pulmonary vein isolation) are not routinely recommended, as data are pending from ongoing randomized controlled trials.