Morbid obesity is associated with increased procedural complications and worse in-hospital outcomes after percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion device implantation

Abstract

Obesity has adverse effects on cardiovascular hemodynamics and is an independent risk factor for the induction and perpetuation of atrial fibrillation (AF) (1). Percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) has shown promising results in reducing stroke risk in select AF patients who cannot be managed with a conventional long-term oral anticoagulation strategy (2). In the landmark PROTECT-AF trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of percutaneous LAAO, patients receiving LAAO device had a mean BMI of 31.6 kg/m2 (2), however, no distinct assessment of outcomes were conducted based on body weight.