A mixed methodology, non-interventional study to evaluate the use of direct oral anticoagulants in UK clinical practice for patients with a first stroke associated with non-valvular atrial fibrillation: study protocol.

Background: Treatment with anticoagulants, including direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), should be considered for patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF) deemed at risk of ischaemic stroke. There are limited real world data related to the characteristics of patients with non-valvular AF who were not taking anticoagulants at the time of first ischaemic stroke and their subsequent DOAC treatment for the secondary prevention of stroke. Furthermore, little is known about patient adherence and experiences of DOAC treatment, especially for patients with non-valvular AF receiving DOAC therapy for the secondary prevention of stroke.

Nonequivalence of inhaled and nebulized salbutamol in the assessment of endothelial dysfunction.

A noninvasive measure of global endothelial dysfunction may be obtained by pulse wave analysis (PWA) before and after administration of inhaled salbutamol. As some subjects may have difficulty using an inhaler, we determined whether equivalent doses of inhaled and nebulized salbutamol produced similar effects on a key measure obtained from PWA-the augmentation index (AIx). Twenty volunteers (11 with vascular risk factors and 9 healthy controls) underwent PWA at the right radial artery using SphygmoCor.