Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with high risk of systemic thromboembolism leading to significant morbidity and mortality. Warfarin, previously the mainstay for stroke prevention in AF, requires close monitoring because of multiple food and drug interactions. In recent years, food and drug administration has approved several direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) for use in patients with nonvalvular AF. These agents have not been studied in patients with valvular AF who are at an even higher risk of systemic thromboembolism. DOACs do not require frequent blood testing or changes in dosage except when renal function deteriorates, however, the lack of established antidotes for many of these agents remains a challenge. Also, currently there is no head-to-head comparison between these agents to guide clinical choice. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of currently approved oral antithrombotics in nonvalvular AF, with a special emphasis on the DOACs and their individual characteristics.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjms.2018.01.013 | DOI Listing |
QJM
January 2025
HRB Clinical Research Facility Galway, School of Medicine, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland.
Background: The optimal approach to the diagnosis of atrial fibrillation in primary care is unclear.
Aim: To determine if external loop recorder (ELR) screening improves atrial fibrillation detection in community dwelling adults with a CHA2DS2-VASc score of greater than two.
Design: Randomised cross-over clinical trial.
JAMA Netw Open
January 2025
Department of Neurology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina.
Importance: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common, chronic, cardiac arrythmia in older US adults. It is not known whether AF is independently associated with increased risk of retinal stroke (central retinal artery occlusion), a subtype of ischemic stroke that causes severely disabling visual loss in most cases and is a harbinger of further vascular events.
Objective: To determine whether there is an association between AF and retinal stroke.
J Interv Card Electrophysiol
January 2025
Cardiovascular Department, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
Background: Ventricular tachycardia (VT) in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) can lead to sudden cardiac death. The role of ventricular tachycardia ablation (VTA) in CS has been investigated in a few small, single-center, and larger observational studies, but the evidence still needs to be provided. This study aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes of VTA in patients with CS admitted with a diagnosis of VT.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur Heart J
December 2024
Department of Cardiology, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Background And Aims: Current estimates for the lifetime risk to develop heart failure with either a reduced (HFrEF) or preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and their associated risk factors are derived from two studies from the USA. The sex-specific lifetime risk and population attributable fraction of potentially modifiable risk factors for incident HFpEF and HFrEF are described in a large European community-based cohort with 25 years of follow-up.
Methods: A total of 8558 participants from the PREVEND cohort were studied at baseline from 1997 onwards and followed until 2022 for cases of new-onset HFrEF (ejection fraction < 50%) and HFpEF (ejection fraction ≥ 50%) by assessment of hospital records.
Sleep
December 2024
Midwest Cardiovascular Institute, Naperville, Illinois, USA.
Central sleep apnea (CSA), a rare polysomnographic finding in the general population, is prevalent in certain cardiovascular conditions including systolic and diastolic left ventricular dysfunction, atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease, carotid artery stenosis, stroke and use of certain cardiac-related medications. Polysomnographic findings of CSA with adverse cardiovascular impacts include nocturnal hypoxemia and arousals, which can lead to increased sympathetic activity both at night and in the daytime. Among cardiovascular diseases, CSA is most prevalent in patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction; a large study of more than 900 treated patients has shown a dose dependent relationship between nocturnal desaturation and mortality.
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