Publications by authors named "Lillian Gondwe"
Importance: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) remains a public health issue in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, there are few large studies enrolling individuals from multiple endemic countries.
Objective: To assess the risk and predictors of major patient-important clinical outcomes in patients with clinical RHD.
Background: Testing of factor Xa inhibitors for the prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with rheumatic heart disease-associated atrial fibrillation has been limited.
Methods: We enrolled patients with atrial fibrillation and echocardiographically documented rheumatic heart disease who had any of the following: a CHADSVASc score of at least 2 (on a scale from 0 to 9, with higher scores indicating a higher risk of stroke), a mitral-valve area of no more than 2 cm, left atrial spontaneous echo contrast, or left atrial thrombus. Patients were randomly assigned to receive standard doses of rivaroxaban or dose-adjusted vitamin K antagonist.