Post-Bulletin
by Anne Halliwell

As we near the end of stroke month, Mayo Clinic researchers reported that a common surgical procedure — closing the left atrial appendage — is still the correct choice for many patients…Mayo Clinic looked at the de-identified administrative claims data for nearly 76,000 adult patients between January 2009 and March 2017. The patients had undergone a coronary artery bypass or heart valve surgery. Of these patients, about 6 percent had the left atrial appendage closed during surgery.

Reach: The Rochester Post-Bulletin is a daily newspaper that serves Rochester, Austin and its surrounding cities. The newspaper has a daily circulation of more than 30,000 and has more than 440,00 unique visitors to its website each month.

Context: Each year in the U.S., more than 300,000 people have heart surgery. To reduce risk of stroke for their patients, surgeons often will close the left atrial appendage, which is a small sac in the left side of the heart where many blood clots form, during these surgeries. Mayo Clinic researchers report today in JAMA that adding this procedure is likely the right choice for certain patients but not all. You can read more about the study on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Contact:  Elizabeth Zimmerman

Tags: Dr. Peter Noseworthy, heart surgery, Otum Labs, Post Bulletin, stroke, Uncategorized