Protect AF

PROTECT AF: Watchman Device Finally Superior

By Crystal Phend, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Published: May 09, 2013

Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

Action Points

• Note that this study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
• The Watchman device for left atrial appendage closure saved lives and prevented stroke in atrial fibrillation better than warfarin (Coumadin) alone, longer-term results from the PROTECT AF trial showed.
• Point out that these results are the first demonstration of superiority in any comparison between the two stroke prevention strategies.

DENVER -- The Watchman device saved lives and prevented stroke in atrial fibrillation better than warfarin (Coumadin) alone, longer-term results from the PROTECT AF trial showed.

Left atrial appendage closure lowered risk of the composite of stroke, cardiovascular cause of death, or systemic embolism by 40% over the anticoagulant alone at 4 years, which met statistical criteria for superiority, Vivek Reddy, MD, of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and colleagues found.

Mortality and hemorrhagic stroke drove the advantage, Reddy reported at a late-breaking presentation here at the Heart Rhythm Society meeting./.../