Articles related to ATRIAL FIBRILLATION (AFIB)

Evaluating the Timing of DOAC Initiation Post-Stroke: Key Findings Here are the key findings from a recent multi-country, open-label research that explores the best time to start direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in atrial fibrillation patients after a stroke.

Long-term continuous monitoring for atrial fibrillation in older patients yielded an incidental diagnosis of sinus node dysfunction or atrioventricular block with bradycardia in 21% of patients over the age of 70. But the finding was not associated with any increased risk of syncope or sudden death.

Medical records of more than half a million individuals in the EU, UK, and US were evaluated. Apixaban was the most frequently prescribed direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) for AFib. It was also associated with a lower incidence of GI bleed vs. the other DOACs.

According to new information revealed in a study of the AHA’s COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease Registry, new onset AFib occurs in 5% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Patients who developed new-onset AFib experienced longer hospital stays and approximately 45% died during their hospitalization. Atrial fibrillation can directly increase the risk of stroke and prolong hospitalization. It is also an indirect marker of the insult that the heart is experiencing when patients are infected with COVID-19.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) can be managed by either a rate control or a rhythm control strategy. Data as to whether rate control or a rhythm control provides better clinical outcomes have been mixed. Therefore, even if direct evidence from randomized clinical trials is lacking in many types of patients, given the unpredictable long-term adverse effects of atrial fibrillation, rhythm control is generally the goal.

When compared with rivaroxaban in a propensity score–matched cohort of 19,894 patients, apixaban was associated with an approximately 50% lower rate of ischemic stroke or systemic embolism and bleeding compared to rivaroxaban.