Stroke Risk Stratification Schemes in Atrial Fibrillation in the Era of Non- Vitamin K Anticoagulants: Misleading and Obsolete, At Least for the "Low-Risk" Patients?

Background: The thromboembolic risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) is significantly mitigated by oral anticoagulation (OAC) therapy, albeit at an increasing bleeding risk. The general principle is that the potential harm conferred by possible bleeding must not exceed the expected protective benefit of OAC. Over the recent years, the CHA2DS2-VASc score has been proven to be superior to other scores in identifying 'low risk' AF patients.

Itraconazole-induced rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure in a heart transplant recipient treated with simvastatin and cyclosporine.

Background: Statins are widely used to decrease cholesterol and improve morbidity and mortality associated with coronary artery disease. Myopathy constitutes a rare but potentially life-threatening adverse reaction, which is related to plasma HMG-CoA reductase inhibitory activity. Therefore, the incidence of rhabdomyolysis increases dramatically when statins are co-administered with drugs that inhibit their hepatic transformation, such as cyclosporine or azoles.