Left Atrial Appendage Ligation and Ablation for Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: The LAALA-AF Registry.

Objectives: This study was intended to evaluate the impact of adding the left atrial appendage (LAA) closure system (LARIAT) procedure to conventional atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation in patients with persistent AF.

Background: Percutaneous endoepicardial LARIAT may result in both mechanical and electrical exclusion of the LAA and aid in improving the outcomes of catheter ablation by eradicating the LAA triggers and altering the substrate.

Methods: We performed a prospective observational study of patients with persistent AF referred for AF ablation.