Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 7, 2026

Catheter Ablation in Combination With Left Atrial Appendage Closure for Atrial Fibrillation
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Catheter Ablation in Combination With Left Atrial Appendage Closure for Atrial Fibrillation

Published on: February 26, 2013

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Three-year clinical outcomes of left atrial appendage occlusion with or without ablation: insight from the RECORD

Tingting Zhang1, Xueni He1, Guotao Fu2

  • 1Department of Cardiology, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Changle west road, Xi'an 710032, China.

Europace : European Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Electrophysiology : Journal of the Working Groups on Cardiac Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology
|February 6, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) plus ablation significantly reduced cardiovascular death, stroke, and systemic embolism compared to LAAO alone at three years. This combination therapy offers a promising strategy for atrial fibrillation management.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Medical Devices
  • Electrophysiology

Background:

  • The long-term efficacy of left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) combined with ablation for atrial fibrillation is debated.
  • The RECORD study investigated the three-year outcomes of LAAO with or without concurrent ablation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the clinical outcomes of patients undergoing LAAO alone versus LAAO plus one-staged ablation.
  • To evaluate the three-year incidence of cardiovascular death, stroke, and systemic embolism in these patient groups.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective registry (RECORD study) enrolled 3,082 patients receiving WATCHMAN LAAO devices.
  • 1:1 propensity score matching was used to compare outcomes between LAAO-only and LAAO plus ablation groups.
  • The primary endpoint was a composite of cardiovascular death, stroke, and systemic embolism at three years.

Main Results:

  • After matching, 1,016 patients were in each group (LAAO only vs. LAAO plus ablation).
  • LAAO plus ablation showed a significantly lower risk of the composite endpoint (6.9% vs. 10.4%, HRPSM: 0.66, p=0.007).
  • This reduction was primarily driven by a lower risk of cardiovascular death (3.7% vs. 7.3%, HRPSM: 0.50, p=0.001).

Conclusions:

  • LAAO plus ablation demonstrated a reduced risk of major adverse cardiovascular events compared to LAAO alone at three years.
  • The findings suggest a potential benefit of combining LAAO with ablation for selected atrial fibrillation patients.
  • Given the observational design, results are considered hypothesis-generating and warrant further investigation.
Abstract

Keywords:
AblationCardiovascular deathLeft atrial appendage occlusionStrokeSystemic embolism

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