Development of Pacemaker Lead Thrombosis in a Patient with Atrial Fibrillation during Apixaban Treatment

Abstract

Apixaban was introduced in clinical use for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation as an alternative to warfarin. There is a dearth of information regarding apixaban use in patients suffering from atrial fibrillation with intracardiac foreign bodies such as pacemaker leads. In this report, we describe a 72-year-old female patient with a complaint of weakness in both legs of a few days' duration. She was detected to have a thrombus over the pacemaker lead and inside the left atrial appendage during apixaban treatment. After the discontinuation of apixaban and the commencement of warfarin, the thrombus was resolved. Our case is the first report to show that apixaban treatment (5 mg, twice daily) may not prevent the development of pacemaker lead thrombosis in patients with atrial fibrillation.