{"id":8251,"date":"2025-08-06T18:56:57","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T15:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/?p=8251"},"modified":"2025-08-06T18:56:57","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T15:56:57","slug":"new-laao-guidelines-6-key-takeaways-for-interventional-cardiologists-and-electrophysiologists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/new-laao-guidelines-6-key-takeaways-for-interventional-cardiologists-and-electrophysiologists\/","title":{"rendered":"New LAAO Guidelines: 6 Key Takeaways for Interventional Cardiologists and Electrophysiologists"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>New LAAO Guidelines: 6 Key Takeaways for Interventional Cardiologists and Electrophysiologists<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Date Published: August 4, 2025<\/div>\n<div>Original Source: Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (JSCAI)<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Background:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) and the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) have released new evidence-based guidelines for Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion (LAAO) to bring consistency and clarity to patient care.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>These build upon a previous 2023 expert consensus but respond to the variation in real-world practice. The guidelines are not strict standards of care but provide strong recommendations to be adapted based on each patient\u2019s situation and preferences.<\/div>\n<div>6 Key Takeaways:<\/div>\n<div><span> 1. LAAO is recommended over no therapy<\/span><\/div>\n<div>For patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) who cannot take oral anticoagulants (OAC), LAAO is preferred over doing nothing.<\/div>\n<div>Patients and doctors should discuss stroke risk vs procedural risk to make an informed decision.<\/div>\n<div><span> 2. LAAO may still be considered even if OAC is possible<\/span><\/div>\n<div>If the patient has high bleeding risk, past bleeding issues, or strongly prefers to avoid long-term medication, LAAO may be better than OAC.<\/div>\n<div><span> 3. Imaging is essential before and during the procedure<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span> \u2022 Before: Use TEE (transesophageal echo) or cardiac CT.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span> \u2022 During: Use intracardiac echo (ICE) or TEE.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span> 4. After LAAO, medication is still required<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span> \u2022 Use either OAC or dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT).<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span> \u2022 If OAC is too risky (e.g., due to major bleeding history), DAPT is a reasonable alternative.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span> 5. Follow-up imaging is needed<\/span><\/div>\n<div>After the procedure, use TEE or cardiac CT to check if the LAAO device is working properly.<\/div>\n<div><span> 6. If a blood clot forms on the device, use OAC<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span> \u2022 Device-related thrombus (DRT) should be managed with anticoagulation.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span> \u2022 However, the best duration and timing of OAC still needs more research.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Additional Notes:<\/div>\n<div><span> \u2022 LAAO is an elective (non-emergency) procedure, so low complication rates and high quality are essential.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span> \u2022 The NCDR LAAO Registry is highlighted as a useful tool to improve outcomes and monitor performance across institutions.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jscai.2025.103864\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jscai.2025.103864<\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New LAAO Guidelines: 6 Key Takeaways for Interventional Cardiologists and Electrophysiologists Date Published: August 4, 2025 Original Source: Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (JSCAI) Background: The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) and the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) have released new evidence-based guidelines for Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion (LAAO) to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/145"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8251"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8252,"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8251\/revisions\/8252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}