Spontaneously occluded left atrial appendage in a patient with atrial fibrillation and stroke: a case report

BACKGROUND : The left atrial appendage (LAA) is the main source of thromboembolism in atrial fibrillation (AF). Transcatheter closure is non-inferior to warfarin therapy in preventing stroke. CASE SUMMARY : A patient with two consecutive strokes associated with AF was referred for transcatheter LAA occlusion (LAAO). Preprocedural cardiac CT and transoesophageal echocardiography demonstrated a spontaneously occluded LAA with a smooth left atrial surface, with stationary results at 6- and 12-month imaging follow-up. Warfarin was discontinued, and life-long aspirin instigated. DISCUSSION : Left atrial appendage occlusion has shown non-inferiority to warfarin for prevention of stroke, cardiovascular death, and all-cause mortality. No benefits from anticoagulation have been demonstrated in patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source. In the present case, we observed that the LAA was occluded and, therefore, treated with aspirin monotherapy assuming similar efficacy as transcatheter LAAO.