Current Status of Left Atrial Appendage Thrombus with Atrial Fibrillation

Cardiac thrombus in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is most commonly found in the left atrial appendage (LAA). The incidence of LAA thrombus ranges from 1.2% to 22.6%, with the vast variation in incidence attributed to the patient’s condition. The effective rate of anticoagulation for thrombus dissolution therapy is only 50%-60%, and long-term anticoagulation treatment increases the risk of bleeding. Direct percutaneous LAA closure in AF patients with LAA thrombus in a suitable location is another alternative treatment option. LAA resection with cardiac surgery is also an effective treatment. This review presents the development of the incidence, diagnosis, and treatment of thrombus in LAA.

Effect of Metabolic Syndrome on Risk Stratification for Left Atrial or Left Atrial Appendage Thrombus Formation in Patients with Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation

Background：Metabolic syndrome （MS） is a risk factor for stroke and thromboembolism event.Left atrial or LA appendage （LA/LAA） thrombus is a surrogate of potential stroke.The relationship between MS and atrial thrombus remains unclear.In this study,we sought to investigate the effect of MS on risk stratification of LA/LAA thrombus formation in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation （NVAF）.Methods：This cross-sectional study enrolled 294 consecutive NVAF patients without prior anticoagulant and lipid-lowering therapies.LA/LAA thrombus was determined by transesophageal echocardiography.Risk assessment of LA/LAA thrombus was performed using the CHADS2,CHA2DS2-VASc,MS,CHADS2-MS,and CHA2DS2-VASc-MS scores.Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine which factors were significantly related to LA/LAA thrombus.Odds ratio （OR） including 95% confidence interval was also calculated.The predictive powers of different scores for the risk of LA/LAA thrombus were represented by C-statistics and compared by receiver operating characteristic （ROC） analysis.Results：LA/LAA thrombi were identified in 56 patients （19.0%）.Logistic analysis showed that MS was the strongest risk factor for LA/LAA thrombus in NVAF patients （OR =14.698,P 〈 0.001）.ROC curve analyses revealed that the C-statistics of CHADS2-MS and CHA2DS2-VASc-MS was significantly higher than those of CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores （CHADS2-MS vs.CHADS2,0.807 vs.0.726,P=0.0019）.Furthermore,MS was helpful for identifying individuals with a high risk of LA/LAA thrombus in the population with a low risk of stroke （CHADS2 or CHA2DS2-VASc score =0）.Conclusions：MS is associated with LA/LAA thrombus risk in patients with NVAF.In addition to the CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores,the CHADS2-MS and CHA2DS2-VASc-MS scores provide additional information on stroke risk assessment.