Baseline characteristics of study population (n=67)
| Patient characteristics | |
| Age, years | 74±7 |
| Female | 36 (54%) |
| Hypertension | 41 (61%) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 16 (24%) |
| Stroke/TIA/thromboembolism | 37 (55%) |
| Vascular disease | 11 (16%) |
| Congestive heart failure | 5 (7%) |
| Abnormal liver function | 1 (1%) |
| Abnormal renal function | 9 (13%) |
| Labile INRs | 2 (3%) |
| Indication for antithrombotic medication | 17 (25%) |
| Alcohol | 3 (4%) |
| CHA2DS2-VASc score | 3.0±1.6 |
| HAS-BLED score | 2.7±0.9 |
| Procedural characteristics | |
| Anaesthesia/intraprocedural imaging | |
| G.A. with TEE guidance | 28 (42%) |
| L.A. with ICE guidance | 39 (57%) |
| LAA closure device | |
| Amulet | 44 (66%) |
| Watchman | 11 (16%) |
| WatchmanFLX | 12 (18%) |
| Procedure time (min) | 46 ± 13 |
| Contrast volume (mL) | 135 ± 42 |
| Postprocedural medication | |
| Single antiplatelet agent | 4 (6%) |
| Double antiplatelet therapy | 63 (94%) |
| Oral anticoagulation | – |
G.A, general anaesthesia; ICE, intracardiac echocardiography; INR, international normalised ratio; L.A, local anaesthesia; LAA, left atrial appendage; TEE, transoesophageal echocardiography; TIA, transient ischaemic attack.