Percutaneous WATCHMAN Left Atrial Appendage Closure for Japanese Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation at Increased Risk of Thromboembolism - First Results From the SALUTE Trial -

Background: The PROTECT AF and PREVAIL trials demonstrated that the WATCHMAN left atrial appendage (LAA) closure device is a reasonable alternative to warfarin therapy for stroke prevention in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) in the USA and Europe. We conducted the SALUTE trial to confirm the safety and efficacy of the LAA closure therapy for patients with NVAF in Japan. Methods and Results: A total of 54 subjects (including 12 Roll-in) with NVAF who had a CHA2DS2-VASc score >= 2 were enrolled. All subjects were successfully implanted with the LAA closure device. No serious adverse events related to the primary proceduresafety endpoint occurred. The 2nd co-primary endpoint was a composite of all stroke, systemic embolism and cardiovascular/unexplained death. One ischemic stroke (1/42) occurred during the 6-month follow-up. The effective LAA closure rate defined as the 3rd co-primary endpoint was 100% (42/42) at both 45-day and 6-month follow-up. Conclusions: The procedural safety and 6-month results from the SALUTE trial demonstrated that the LAA closure device was safe and effective, similar to the results of large-scale randomized clinical trials, and provides a novel perspective of LAA closure for Japanese patients with NVAF in need of an alternative to long-term oral-anticoagulation.