Hospital Particular de Alvor (HPA) performed, for the first time, the closure of a patient's left auricular appendage, through percutaneous intervention, a procedure carried out from the groin and without resorting to surgery, which will now be made available by this unit of health.
In this procedure for closing the left auricular appendage, “a device is placed at the entrance of the left auricular appendage, closing it (“excluding it”), the objective of which is to reduce the risk of embolization of thrombi formed in this appendage and consequently reduce the risk of stroke. caused by atrial fibrillation», according to the Grupo Hospital Particular do Algarve (HPA).
«Atrial fibrillation is a very common arrhythmia and is related to high rates of morbidity and mortality, due to its thromboembolic potential and consequently risk of 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 thrombi, associated with atrial fibrillation, which can later embolize (migrate) and cause a stroke», he adds.
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 these patients at 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 contraindications or intolerance to oral anticoagulants, patients with a high bleeding risk or history of bleeding and also suboptimal therapy with oral anticoagulants. With this new procedure, this group of patients has another possibility of treatment in order to reduce their risk of having a stroke».
The Hospital Particular do Algarve – Alvor «has been one of the references for Interventional Cardiology in the national panorama of private medicine since 2001 and where minimally invasive interventions by catheterization were carried out for the first time in the region, such as angioplasties or the percutaneous implantation of aortic valves or mitral valve (technique known as TAVI, from the English Thranscatheter Aortic Valve Implantation)».
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