[Anticoagulant treatment in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and chronic anemia: still a grey area].

Anemia has been associated with a higher risk of major bleeding among atrial fibrillation patients on oral anticoagulation and is therefore included in most bleeding risk scores. In contrast, much less evidence exists regarding the association between anemia and stroke risk in atrial fibrillation patients. The purpose of this review was to re-evaluate the efficacy and safety of anticoagulant treatment, in particular of new oral anticoagulants, in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and chronic anemia.

[Major gastrointestinal hemorrhage during anticoagulant therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation: when should treatment be resumed?].

In patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) under oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT), over half of the hemorrhagic complications occur in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, with an incidence of 1-4% per year. This complication mainly involves older patients, often very compromised from the clinical point of view; mortality rates are not negligible, varying between 4% and 15%. The purpose of the present review was to evaluate the utility of resuming OAT after a major GI hemorrhage in patients with AF.

[Sinus bradycardia and syncope: what pathophysiological mechanism and what management of the patient?].

Sick sinus syndrome (SSS) can be diagnosed only when there is a clear correlation between symptoms and sinus node dysfunction. In the absence of such correlation, the mechanism of undocumented intermittent symptoms such as syncopal spells in patients with permanent mild sinus bradycardia remains uncertain. Some clinical data suggest that a reflex mechanism is likely to be involved in many patients with syncope and sinus bradycardia: the course of syncopal recurrences is very variable from patient to patient and transient loss of consciousness does not recur in more than half of unpaced patients during an observation period of several years.

[Efficacy and safety of oral anticoagulants in frail elderly patients with atrial fibrillation: an unsolved problem].

At present, the efficacy and safety of anticoagulants, warfarin, or new oral anticoagulants in frail patients remain unknown, as these patients have largely been excluded from both randomized trials and "real-world" studies; as a result, the guidelines do not provide guidance for the management of this population. Frail patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are significantly less likely to receive oral anticoagulants compared to their nonfrail counterparts; is that an expression of reasonable prudence or malpractice? In this regard, some aspects of physical frailty should be considered: (i) increased vulnerability to stressors, including pharmacological agents with potential severe adverse effects; (ii) frail elderly patients are at high risk of falls and, therefore, of severe traumatic hemorrhages on oral anticoagulation; (iii) frail patients are more likely to have complications during intercurrent affections, potentially responsible for hemorrhages. Prospective "real-world" studies including frail AF patients are necessary.

Initial Clinical Evaluation.

The initial evaluation of patients with transient loss of consciousness (LOC) comprises a detailed medical history, physical examination, and 12-lead electrocardiogram. Because there are many causes of syncopal and nonsyncopal LOC, an adequate method of taking the clinical history, which is the cornerstone of diagnosing patients with transient LOC, should be used.

Differential diagnosis between 'unexplained' fall and syncopal fall: a difficult or impossible task.

Falls may be accidental (because of slipping, tripping or environmental hazards) or 'unexplained', when there is no apparent cause. Syncope is a transient loss of consciousness (LOC) and, if it occurs when the person is in the upright position, may lead to a fall. The differential diagnosis between 'unexplained' fall and syncopal fall can be difficult, if not impossible, because many patients have retrograde amnesia after syncope, that is they do not remember their prodromal symptoms.