Anatomy of the atria : A road map to the left atrial appendage.
File(s)B Umberto Atria Herzschrittmachertherapie.pdf (1.42 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Barbero, Umberto
Ho, Siew Yen
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The left atrial appendage (LAA) has received increasing attention in recent years because of thrombi formation in patients with atrial fibrillation, which increases the risk of stroke. In patients who have contraindications for long-term oral anticoagulation therapy, percutaneous procedures are used to occlude the LAA and there are now several devices available for implantation, both endocardially and epicardially. Despite the high-resolution imaging techniques on hand today, limitations remain in providing information about wall thickness and neighboring structures; therefore, in-depth knowledge of the normal atrial anatomy is mandatory when considering such interventions. Here, the anatomy of the right and left atria is reviewed with relevance to interventional procedures required for LAA occlusion. The components of the atria, particularly the LAA as well as the atrial septum, are described with emphasis on their spatial relationships to neighboring cardiac and extracardiac structures. Sound knowledge of the atrial anatomy including endocardial and epicardial aspects is necessary. This will help interventionists take full advantage of imaging techniques when assessing the suitability of the LAA anatomy for closure, selecting the optimal device types and sizes, and guiding the LAA closure procedure, thereby reducing potential complications and increasing procedural success.
Date Issued
2017-11-03
Date Acceptance
2017-10-05
Citation
Herzschrittmachertherapie and Elektrophysiologie, 2017, 28 (4), pp.347-354
ISSN
0938-7412
Publisher
Springer Verlag
Start Page
347
End Page
354
Journal / Book Title
Herzschrittmachertherapie and Elektrophysiologie
Volume
28
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2017
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
License URL
Identifier
PII: 10.1007/s00399-017-0535-x
Subjects
Atrial appendage
Atrial fibrillation
Heart atria
Occlusion
Puncture
Publication Status
Published