Prevalence of left atrial thrombus in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature
Thromb Haemost 2015 Nov 26
9
December
Dec
2015
10 years ago
In this study we performed a meta-analysis about the prevalence of left atrial thrombus (LAT) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing trans-esophageal echocardiography (TEE).
Our data suggest that LAT is present in ≍10 % of AF patients, and is associated with a 3.5-fold increased risk of stroke/systemic embolism. Interestingly, LAT is also reported in some of patients receiving anticoagulation. The implementation of the screening of LAT in AF patients before cardioversion/ablation could be useful for the prevention of vascular events.
Our data suggest that LAT is present in ≍10 % of AF patients, and is associated with a 3.5-fold increased risk of stroke/systemic embolism. Interestingly, LAT is also reported in some of patients receiving anticoagulation. The implementation of the screening of LAT in AF patients before cardioversion/ablation could be useful for the prevention of vascular events.