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Atrial fibrillation

Stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation: can we do better?

Nature Reviews Cardiology volume 13, pages 511–512 (2016)Cite this article

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Clinical guidelines advocate oral anticoagulation (OAC) for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation and ≥1 risk factors for stroke, but 40% of eligible patients receive aspirin, and those at greatest risk are least likely to be prescribed OAC. Why is there a discrepancy between guidelines and clinical practice?

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Figure 1: Predictors of aspirin versus oral anticoagulant (OAC) therapy prescription in patients with atrial fibrillation at high risk of stroke (CHA2DS2-VASc ≥2) in the PINNACLE registry1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Deirdre A. Lane and Gregory Y. H. Lip are at the University of Birmingham Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, City Hospital, Dudley Road, Birmingham, West Midlands B18 7QH, UK.,

    Deirdre A. Lane & Gregory Y. H. Lip

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  1. Deirdre A. Lane
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  2. Gregory Y. H. Lip
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Correspondence to Deirdre A. Lane.

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Competing interests

D.A.L. has received investigator-initiated educational grants from Bayer HealthCare, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Bristol Myers Squibb; has been a speaker for Bayer HealthCare, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Bristol Myers Squibb/Pfizer; and has consulted for Bristol Myers Squibb and Boehringer Ingelheim. G.Y.H.L. is a consultant for Bayer HealthCare/Janssen, Biotronik, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb/Pfizer, Daiichi-Sankyo, Medtronic, and Microlife; and is a speaker for Bayer HealthCare, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb/Pfizer, Daiichi-Sankyo, Medtronic, Microlife, and Roche.

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Lane, D., Lip, G. Stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation: can we do better?. Nat Rev Cardiol 13, 511–512 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2016.117

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