Impact of Steerable Delivery Sheaths on Successful Closure of Left Atrial Appendage With AMULET Dual Mechanism Closure Device (STEER-CLOSE Study)

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common abnormal heart rhythm associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. It is one of the strongest risk factors of systemic thromboembolism (TE), with stroke being the most serious outcome. Prevention of stroke is the cornerstone of managing AF, which can be achieved either by oral anticoagulation (OAC) or Percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) in patients who have a contraindication to OAC. Heterogeneity in cardiac chamber size, interatrial septum, LAA anatomy and orientation, operator experience and currently available fixed curve sheaths add to the complexity of the procedure. Alignment of LAAO device along the access of the left atrial appendage body is an important factor in improving closure rates. The devices which are currently approved by FDA for LAA closure in the U.S. are Amplatzer Amulet device (Abbott Medical) and Watchman and Watchman FLX devices (Boston Scientific). In a recent study, Amplatzer Amulet device was found to be noninferior in terms of safety and effectiveness, with superior LAA occlusion rates but higher device-related complications as compared to first generation watchman device. The LAAO device sheaths that are used currently have fixed shapes and angles that may not be optimal for some LAA anatomy, which can lead to excessive device manipulation, prolonged procedure time, and potentially suboptimal co-axiality during the process. This may lead to increase device related complications. The new Amplatzer steerable delivery sheath (Abbott Vascular) is designed to provide distal bidirectional steerability of the sheath for Amulet implantation. Such steerability may enable successful endovascular closure of greater proportion of LAA, allow precise position of the transseptal puncture, and potentially reduce procedural times and complications with complex cases.

Investigators hypothesize that the use of novel steerable sheath for LAAO closure is safer and more effective as compared to non-steerable fixed curve sheath