Clinical features of heart failure in patients with atrial fibrillation: the role of the endovascular left atrial appendage closure

Aim. To evaluate the long-term impact of endovascular left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) on heart failure (HF) course in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).Materials and Methods: The prospective cohort study included patients with AF, HF, and a high risk of thromboembolic events, of which 39,6% underwent LAAO, 60,4% — received standard preventive therapy for cardioembolic events. Changes in BNP levels in the LAAO and control groups were analyzed throughout the observation period. The incidence of unfavorable HF outcomes (decompensated HF, hospitalizations related to HF, worsening HF class) was compared using the Cox-regression analysis with the log-rank test. A univariate analysis using Cox regression was conducted to identify independent predictors of endpoint achievement, involving all clinical and historical factors. Subsequently, a multivariate analysis was carried out, with predictors selected through the Wald exclusion test from those factors with a p-value less than 0.2 in the univariate analysis. Each factor was found to be a statistically significant independent predictor of the endpoint, with the overall model significance of p