Atrial fibrillation is a heart rhythm disorder that often occurs after heart surgery. During atrial fibrillation blood cloths may form, predominantly in the left atrial appendage, a small sac in the wall of the left side of the heart. Some heart surgeons close this appendage to protect against stroke, particularly in patients with a history of atrial fibrillation, yet there is little evidence to support the efficacy and safety of this practice. We therefore conducted the Left Atrial Appendage Closure by Surgery (LAACS) study (2010-2016) were patients in whom the appendage was closed (by chance) suffered fewer brain damages that patients where it remained open. Although encouraging, these results were not only based on strokes, but also on scars without symptoms found in brain scans. The following LAACS-2 study will include a sufficient number of patients to determine whether future guidelines should advise to close systematically the left atrium appendage during a heart operation.
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Number of participants with Stroke occurrence including Transitory cerebral ischemia (TCI)
Timeframe: at least two years, until end of follow-up