Efficacy and Safety of Anticoagulants in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation and History of Falls or Risk of Falls: A Systematic Review and Multilevel Meta-Analysis.

Introduction: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major cause of stroke. Anticoagulants substantially reduce risk of stroke but are also associated with an increased risk of bleeding. Because of that, many patients do not receive anticoagulants, particularly patients at risk of falls.

Early Rhythm Control Therapy for Atrial Fibrillation in Low-Risk Patients : A Nationwide Propensity Score-Weighted Study.

Background: Rhythm control is associated with lower risk for adverse cardiovascular outcomes compared with usual care among patients recently diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF) with a CHADS-VASc score of approximately 2 or greater in EAST-AFNET 4 (Early Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation for Stroke Prevention Trial).

Objective: To investigate whether the results can be generalized to patients with low stroke risk.

Design: Population-based cohort study.

Habitual Alcohol Intake and Risk of Atrial Fibrillation in Young Adults in Korea.

Importance: Guidelines recommend that all risk factors for early-onset atrial fibrillation, including lifestyle factors, be proactively managed, considering the poor prognosis of the disease. Not much is known about the association of cumulative alcohol intake with the risk of atrial fibrillation in young adults aged 20 to 39 years, especially among heavy drinkers.

Objective: To explore the association of alcohol consumption with the risk of incident atrial fibrillation in young adults.

Contemporary management of atrial fibrillation in primary and secondary care in the UK: the prospective long-term AF-GEN-UK Registry.

Aims: This study established a prospective registry of contemporary management of UK patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) by cardiologists, general practitioners, and stroke, acute, and emergency medicine physicians at baseline and 1-year follow-up.

Methods And Results: Data on patients with recently diagnosed AF (≤12 months) were collected from medical records from 101 UK sites to permit comparison of patient characteristics and treatments between specialities. The impact of guideline-adherent oral anticoagulation (OAC) use on outcomes was assessed using Cox regression analysis.

Polypill Strategy in Secondary Cardiovascular Prevention.

Background: A polypill that includes key medications associated with improved outcomes (aspirin, angiotensin-converting-enzyme [ACE] inhibitor, and statin) has been proposed as a simple approach to the secondary prevention of cardiovascular death and complications after myocardial infarction.

Methods: In this phase 3, randomized, controlled clinical trial, we assigned patients with myocardial infarction within the previous 6 months to a polypill-based strategy or usual care. The polypill treatment consisted of aspirin (100 mg), ramipril (2.

Understanding UK medical students' perspectives on a career in cardiothoracic surgery.

Objectives: The UK postgraduate training program in cardiothoracic surgery is challenging and competitive, with trainees choosing the field for different reasons. This study aims to identify factors that influence medical students in pursuing a career within cardiothoracic surgery.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in which a questionnaire was anonymously filled out by medical students across 17 medical schools in the United Kingdom.

Healthcare provider and patient perspectives on access to and management of atrial fibrillation in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka: a rapid evaluation of barriers and facilitators to care.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia that affects 60 million people worldwide. Limited evidence on AF management exists from low- and middle-income countries and none from Sri Lanka. We aimed to investigate the existing AF care pathway and patients' perception on AF management to identify barriers and enablers for optimal AF care in Northern Province, Sri Lanka.

Prognostic model for atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery: a UK cohort study.

Objective: To develop a validated clinical prognostic model to determine the risk of atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery as part of the PARADISE project (NIHR131227).

Methods: Prospective cohort study with linked electronic health records from a cohort of 5.6 million people in the United Kingdom Clinical Practice Research Datalink from 1998 to 2016.

Social determinants of health and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with heart failure.

Background: We examined the associations between family income and educational attainment with incident atrial fibrillation (AF), myocardial infarction (MI), stroke and cardiovascular (CV) death among patients with newly-diagnosed heart failure (HF).

Methods: In a nationwide Danish registry of HF patients diagnosed between 2008 and 2018, we established a cohort for each outcome. When examining AF, MI and stroke, respectively, patients with a history of these outcomes at diagnosis of HF were excluded.

Coffee and cardiac arrhythmias: Up-date review of the literature and clinical studies.

Coffee, next to water, is the most consumed drink in the world. Coffee contains over 1000 chemical compounds, the most popular of which are caffeine, chlorogenic acid, kahweol, cafestol and trigonelline. Numerous studies have shown the beneficial effects of coffee on the cardiovascular system, nervous system, digestive system and kidneys.

Irisin is an Effector Molecule in Exercise Rehabilitation Following Myocardial Infarction (Review).

Regular exercise is an effective non-pharmacological therapy for treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The therapeutic benefits of exercise are mediated partly through improved vascular and increase in metabolic health. Release of exercise-responsive myokines, including irisin, is associated with beneficial effects of exercise in CVD patients.

Relationship between low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, lipid-lowering agents and risk of stroke: a meta-analysis of observational studies ( = 355,591) and randomized controlled trials ( = 165,988).

Introduction: The impact of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) on the risk of different types of strokes is unclear. Therefore, we systematically evaluated the impact of LDL-C levels (cohort studies) and lipid-lowering agents (LLAs) (randomized controlled trials) on the different types of stroke.

Material And Methods: PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched up to 1 September 2019.

Social determinants of health and catheter ablation after an incident diagnosis of atrial fibrillation: a Danish nationwide cohort study.

Aims: To examine (i) the sex-specific associations between three social determinants of health (SDOH) and use of ablation after incident atrial fibrillation (AF), and (ii) the temporal trends in these associations.

Methods And Results: We conducted a nationwide cohort study of patients with an incident hospital diagnosis of AF between 2005 and 2018. SDOH at the time of AF diagnosis included three levels of educational attainment, tertile groups of family income, and whether the patient was living alone.

Assessment and Mitigation of Bleeding Risk in Atrial Fibrillation and Venous Thromboembolism: Executive Summary of a European and Asia-Pacific Expert Consensus Paper.

While there is a clear clinical benefit of oral anticoagulation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and venous thromboembolism (VTE) in reducing the risks of thromboembolism, major bleeding events (especially intracranial bleeds) may still occur and be devastating. The decision for initiating and continuing anticoagulation is often based on a careful assessment of both thromboembolism and bleeding risk. The more common and validated bleeding risk factors have been used to formulate bleeding risk stratification scores, but thromboembolism and bleeding risk factors often overlap.

Circulating Vitamin D Concentrations and Risk of Atrial Fibrillation: A Mendelian Randomization Study Using Non-deficient Range Summary Statistics.

Background And Aims: Vitamin D deficiency is a common disorder and has been linked with atrial fibrillation (AF) in several observational studies, although the causal relationships remain unclear. We conducted a Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to determine the causal association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations and AF.

Methods And Results: The analyses were performed using summary statistics obtained for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified from large genome-wide association meta-analyses conducted on serum 25(OH)D ( = 79,366) and AF ( = 1,030,836).

Stroke in Older Adults Living in Care Homes: Results From a National Data Linkage Study in Wales.

Objectives: To determine the proportion of older people moving to care homes with a recent stroke, incidence of stroke after moving to a care home, mortality following stroke, and secondary stroke prevention management in older care home residents.

Design: Retrospective cohort study using population-scale individual-level linked data sources between 2003 and 2018 in the Secure Anonymized Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank.

Setting And Participants: People aged ≥65 years residing in long-term care homes in Wales.

Awareness of sex and gender dimensions among physicians: the European federation of internal medicine assessment of gender differences in Europe (EFIM-IMAGINE) survey.

Sociocultural gender is a complex construct encompassing different aspects of individuals' life, whereas sex refers to biological factors. These terms are often misused, although they impact differently on individuals' health. Recognizing the role of sex and gender on health status is fundamental in the pursuit of a personalized medicine.

Age and Outcomes of Early Rhythm Control in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: Nationwide Cohort Study.

Objectives: This study sought to investigate whether the effects of early rhythm control differ according to age.

Background: Rhythm control, compared with usual care among patients recently diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF), was found to be associated with a lower risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes. It is unclear whether the results can be generalized for older adults.

Impact of Integrated Care Management on Clinical Outcomes in Atrial Fibrillation Patients: A Report From the FANTASIIA Registry.

Background: An integrated and holistic approach is increasingly advocated in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), based on the "Atrial fibrillation Better Care (ABC) pathway: A, Avoid stroke with anticoagulation; B, better symptom management; C, cardiovascular and comorbidity risk management." The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of adherence to each component of the ABC pathway and to analyze its impact on long-term prognosis in the "real-world" cohort of AF patients from the FANTASIIA registry.

Methods: This prospective study included consecutive AF outpatients anticoagulated with direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) or vitamin K antagonists (VKA) from June 2013 to October 2014.

Atrial Fibrillation in Heart Failure: Focus on Antithrombotic Management.

Heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF), increasingly common in the aging population, are closely related and commonly found together. This article explores the relationship between AF and HF and the thromboembolic effect of these diseases. Morbidity and mortality are increased when the 2 conditions are seen together.