Limitations in Contemporary Pharmacological Stroke Prevention Therapies in Atrial Fibrillation: A Descriptive Literature Review

The most common arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation (AF), increases with age and is associated with a 5-fold increased risk of stroke. Although lifelong oral anticoagulation (OAC) is strongly recommended for stroke prevention in patients with AF and CHA2DS2-VASc ≥ 2 only 50–60% of patients in Western co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of clinical medicine Vol. 12; no. 20; p. 6594
Main Authors Garot, Philippe, Bergmann, Martin W.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.10.2023
MDPI
Subjects
Anticoagulants
Atrial fibrillation
Cardiac arrhythmia
Cardiovascular disease
Clinical medicine
Complications and side effects
Contraindications
Diagnosis
Disease prevention
Ischemia
Liver diseases
Patients
Preferences
Prevention
Review
Risk factors
Stroke
Stroke (Disease)
France
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Summary:The most common arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation (AF), increases with age and is associated with a 5-fold increased risk of stroke. Although lifelong oral anticoagulation (OAC) is strongly recommended for stroke prevention in patients with AF and CHA2DS2-VASc ≥ 2 only 50–60% of patients in Western countries belonging to this group are treated with oral anticoagulants, and less than half of these adhere to therapy over time. Before 2010, the numerous limitations associated with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) were considered to be the reason behind OAC underuse; however, the approval of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) that require once- or twice-daily intake, no regular blood tests and fewer drug–food interactions has resulted in only modest improvements in OAC use and adherence.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-3
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ObjectType-Review-1
ISSN:2077-0383
2077-0383
DOI:10.3390/jcm12206594