Subscribe to RSS
DOI: 10.1160/TH16-11-0876
Stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation: Past, present and future
Comparing the guidelines and practical decision-makingPublication History
Received:
22 November 2016
Accepted after minor revision:
02 January 2017
Publication Date:
08 November 2017 (online)
Summary
Concepts and our approaches to stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF) have changed markedly over the last decade. There has been an evolution over the approach to stroke and bleeding risk assessment, as well as new treatment options. An increasing awareness of AF has led to calls to improve the detection of and population screening for AF. Stroke and bleeding risk assessment continues to evolve, and the ongoing debate on balance between simplicity and practicality, against precision medicine will continue. In this review article, we provide an overview of past, present and the (likely) future concepts and approaches to stroke prevention in AF. We propose three simple steps (the Birmingham ‘3-step’) that offers a practical management pathway to help streamline and simplify decision-making for stroke prevention in patients with AF.
Note: The review process for this paper was fully handled by Christian Weber, Editor in Chief.
-
References
- 1 Kirchhof P. et al. A roadmap to improve the quality of atrial fibrillation management: proceedings from the fifth Atrial Fibrillation Network/European Heart Rhythm Association consensus conference. Europace 2016; 18: 37-50.
- 2 Freedman SB, Lowres N. Asymptomatic Atrial Fibrillation: The Case for Screening to Prevent Stroke. JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association 2015; 314: 1911-1912.
- 3 Raparelli V. et al. Adherence to oral anticoagulant therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation. Focus on non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants. Thromb Haemost 2016; 209-218.
- 4 Martinez C. et al. Therapy persistence in newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation treated with warfarin or NOAC. A cohort study. Thromb Haemost 2016; 115: 31-39.
- 5 Hart RG. et al. Meta-analysis: antithrombotic therapy to prevent stroke in patients who have nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Ann Intern Med 2007; 146: 857-867.
- 6 Hart RG. et al. Adjusted-dose warfarin versus aspirin for preventing stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. Ann Intern Med 2007; 147: 590-592.
- 7 De Caterina R. et al. Vitamin K antagonists in heart disease: current status and perspectives (Section III). Position paper of the ESC Working Group on Thrombosis--Task Force on Anticoagulants in Heart Disease. Thromb Haemost 2013; 110: 1087-1107.
- 8 Keogh C. et al. Validation of the CHADS2 clinical prediction rule to predict ischaemic stroke. A systematic review and meta-analysis. Thromb Haemost 2011; 106: 528-538.
- 9 Karthikeyan G, Eikelboom JW. The CHADS2 score for stroke risk stratification in atrial fibrillation--friend or foe?. Thromb Haemost 2010; 104: 45-48.
- 10 Echocardiographic predictors of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation: a prospective study of 1066 patients from 3 clinical trials. Arch Intern Med 1998; 158: 1316-1320.
- 11 Donal E. et al. EACVI/EHRA Expert Consensus Document on the role of multi-modality imaging for the evaluation of patients with atrial fibrillation. Eur Heart joJ Cardiovasc Imag 2016; 17: 355-383.
- 12 Di Minno MN. et al. Prevalence of left atrial thrombus in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature. Thromb Haemost 2016; 115: 663-677.
- 13 Stroke Risk in Atrial Fibrillation Working G. Independent predictors of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation: a systematic review. Neurology 2007; 69: 546-554.
- 14 Hughes M. et al. Stroke and thromboembolism in atrial fibrillation: a systematic review of stroke risk factors, risk stratification schema and cost effectiveness data. Thromb Haemost 2008; 99: 295-304.
- 15 Pisters R. et al. Stroke and thromboembolism in atrial fibrillation. Circ J 2012; 76: 2289-2304.
- 16 Lip GY. et al. Refining clinical risk stratification for predicting stroke and thromboembolism in atrial fibrillation using a novel risk factor-based approach: the euro heart survey on atrial fibrillation. Chest 2010; 137: 263-272.
- 17 Chao TF. et al. Validation of a Modified CHA2DS2-VASc Score for Stroke Risk Stratification in Asian Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: A Nationwide Cohort Study. Stroke 2016; 47: 2462-2469.
- 18 Violi F. et al. Ankle-Brachial Index and cardiovascular events in atrial fibrillation. The ARAPACIS Study. Thromb Haemost 2016; 115: 856-863.
- 19 Wagstaff AJ. et al. Is female sex a risk factor for stroke and thromboembolism in patients with atrial fibrillation? A systematic review and meta-analysis. QJM 2014; 107: 955-967.
- 20 Friberg L. et al. Assessment of female sex as a risk factor in atrial fibrillation in Sweden: nationwide retrospective cohort study. Br Med J 2012; 344: e3522.
- 21 Banerjee A. et al. Ejection fraction and outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation and heart failure: the Loire Valley Atrial Fibrillation Project. Eur J Heart Fail 2012; 14: 295-301.
- 22 Fauchier L. et al. Should Atrial Fibrillation Patients With Only 1 Nongender-Related CHA2DS2-VASc Risk Factor Be Anticoagulated?. Stroke 2016; 47: 1831-1836.
- 23 Hung Y. et al. Is an Oral Anticoagulant Necessary for Young Atrial Fibrillation Patients With a CHA2DS2-VASc Score of 1 (Men) or 2 (Women)?. J Am Heart Assoc 2016; 5 pii e003839.
- 24 Lip GY, Nielsen PB. Should Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and 1 Stroke Risk Factor (CHA2DS2-VASc Score 1 in Men, 2 in Women) Be Anticoagulated? Yes: Even 1 Stroke Risk Factor Confers a Real Risk of Stroke. Circulation 2016; 133: 1498-1503.
- 25 Lip GY. et al. Non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients with none or one additional risk factor of the CHA2DS2-VASc score. A comprehensive net clinical benefit analysis for warfarin, aspirin, or no therapy. Thromb Haemost 2015; 114: 826-834.
- 26 Friberg L. et al. Balancing stroke and bleeding risks in patients with atrial fibrillation and renal failure: the Swedish Atrial Fibrillation Cohort study. Eur Heart J 2015; 36: 297-306.
- 27 Guo Y. et al. Multiple risk factors and ischaemic stroke in the elderly Asian population with and without atrial fibrillation. An analysis of 425,600 Chinese individuals without prior stroke. Thromb Haemost 2016; 115: 184-192.
- 28 Melgaard L. et al. Assessment of the CHA2DS2-VASc Score in Predicting Ischaemic Stroke, Thromboembolism, and Death in Patients With Heart Failure With and Without Atrial Fibrillation. J Am Med Assoc 2015; 314: 1030-1038.
- 29 Hippisley-Cox J. et al. Derivation and validation of QStroke score for predicting risk of ischaemic stroke in primary care and comparison with other risk scores: a prospective open cohort study. Br Med J 2013; 346: f2573.
- 30 Hijazi Z. et al. The ABC (age, biomarkers, clinical history) stroke risk score: a biomarker-based risk score for predicting stroke in atrial fibrillation. Eur Heart J 2016; 37: 1582-1590.
- 31 Ruff CT. et al. Cardiovascular Biomarker Score and Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: A Subanalysis of the ENGAGE AF-TIMI 48 Randomized Clinical Trial. J Am Med Assoc Cardiol 2016; 1: 999-1006.
- 32 Siegbahn A. et al. D-dimer and factor VIIa in atrial fibrillation - prognostic values for cardiovascular events and effects of anticoagulation therapy. A RE-LY substudy. Thromb Haemost 2016; 115: 921-930.
- 33 Lip GY. et al. Additive role of plasma von Willebrand factor levels to clinical factors for risk stratification of patients with atrial fibrillation. Stroke 2006; 37: 2294-2300.
- 34 Hijazi Z. et al. The novel biomarker-based ABC (age, biomarkers, clinical history)-bleeding risk score for patients with atrial fibrillation: a derivation and validation study. Lancet 2016; 387: 2302-2311.
- 35 Kirchhof P. et al. 2016 ESC Guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation developed in collaboration with EACTS: The Task Force for the management of atrial fibrillation of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Developed with the special contribution of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) of the ESC. Endorsed by the European Stroke Organisation (ESO). Eur Heart J 2016. ; Epub ahead of print.
- 36 January CT. et al. 2014 AHA/ACC/HRS guideline for the management of patients with atrial fibrillation: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines and the Heart Rhythm Society. J Am Coll Cardiol 2014; 64: e1-e76.
- 37 Freedman SB. et al. Misperceptions of aspirin efficacy and safety may perpetuate anticoagulant underutilization in atrial fibrillation. Eur Heart J 2015; 36: 653-656.
- 38 Quinn GR. et al. Wide Variation in Reported Rates of Stroke Across Cohorts of Patients with Atrial Fibrillation. Circulation 2017; 135: 208-219.
- 39 Nielsen PB, Lip GYH. Adding Rigor to Stroke Rate Investigations in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation. Circulation 2017. ; Epub ahead of print.
- 40 Nielsen PB, Chao TF. The risks of risk scores for stroke risk assessment in atrial fibrillation. Thromb Haemost 2015; 113: 1170-1173.
- 41 Olesen JB, Torp-Pedersen C. Stroke risk in atrial fibrillation: Do we anticoagulate CHADS2 or CHA2DS2-VASc >/=1, or higher?. Thromb Haemost 2015; 113: 1165-1169.
- 42 Wilson MR. et al. Quality and predictors of anticoagulant control with vitamin K antagonist for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation. Thromb Haemost 2016; 116: 578-580.
- 43 Apostolakis S. et al. Factors affecting quality of anticoagulation control among patients with atrial fibrillation on warfarin: the SAMe-TT (2)R (2) score. Chest 2013; 144: 1555-1563.
- 44 Ruiz-Ortiz M. et al. Validation of the SAMe-TT2R2 score in a nationwide population of nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients on vitamin K antagonists. Thromb Haemost 2015; 114: 695-701.
- 45 Bernaitis N. et al. The Sex, Age, Medical History, Treatment, Tobacco Use, Race Risk (SAMe TT2R2) Score Predicts Warfarin Control in a Singaporean Population. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 2017; 26: 64-69.
- 46 Ruff CT. et al. Comparison of the efficacy and safety of new oral anticoagulants with warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation: a meta-analysis of randomised trials. Lancet 2014; 383: 955-962.
- 47 Renda G. et al. Net Clinical Benefit of Non-vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants Versus Warfarin in Phase III Atrial Fibrillation Trials. Am J Med 2015; 128: 1007-1014 e2
- 48 Pollack CV. Jr. et al. Idarucizumab for Dabigatran Reversal. N Engl J Med 2015; 373: 511-520.
- 49 Pollack CV. Jr. et al. Design and rationale for RE-VERSE AD: A phase 3 study of idarucizumab, a specific reversal agent for dabigatran. Thromb Haemost 2015; 114: 198-205.
- 50 Connolly SJ. et al. Andexanet Alfa for Acute Major Bleeding Associated with Factor Xa Inhibitors. N Engl J Med 2016; 375: 1131-1141.
- 51 Greinacher A. et al. Reversal of anticoagulants: an overview of current developments. Thromb Haemost 2015; 113: 931-942.
- 52 Ageno W. et al. Managing reversal of direct oral anticoagulants in emergency situations. Anticoagulation Education Task Force White Paper. Thromb Haemost 2016; 116: 1003-1010.
- 53 Freedman B, Lip GY. “Unreal world„ or “real world„ data in oral anticoagulant treatment of atrial fibrillation. Thromb Haemost 2016; 116: 587-589.
- 54 Avgil-Tsadok M. et al. Dabigatran use in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation. Thromb Haemost 2016; 115: 152-160.
- 55 Carmo J. et al. Dabigatran in real-world atrial fibrillation. Meta-analysis of observational comparison studies with vitamin K antagonists. Thromb Haemost 2016; 116: 754-763.
- 56 Hecker J. et al. Effectiveness and safety of rivaroxaban therapy in daily-care patients with atrial fibrillation. Results from the Dresden NOAC Registry. Thromb Haemost 2016; 115: 939-949.
- 57 Beyer-Westendorf J. et al. Effectiveness and safety of dabigatran therapy in daily-care patients with atrial fibrillation. Results from the Dresden NOAC Registry. Thromb Haemost 2015; 113: 1247-1257.
- 58 Darwiche W. et al. Risk of myocardial infarction and death in patients with atrial fibrillation treated with dabigatran or vitamin K antagonists. Meta-analysis of observational analyses. Thromb Haemost 2016; 116: 1150-1158.
- 59 Larsen TB. et al. Comparative effectiveness and safety of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants and warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation: propensity weighted nationwide cohort study. Br Med J 2016; 353: i3189.
- 60 Lip GY. et al. Real-world comparison of major bleeding risk among non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients initiated on apixaban, dabigatran, rivaroxaban, or warfarin. A propensity score matched analysis. Thromb Haemost 2016; 116: 975-986.
- 61 Graham DJ. et al. Stroke, Bleeding, and Mortality Risks in Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries Treated With Dabigatran or Rivaroxaban for Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation. J Am Med Assoc Intern Med 2016; 176: 1662-1671.
- 62 Bodansky DM. et al. Adverse cardiovascular outcomes in relation to suboptimal antithrombotic therapy use in patients undergoing peripheral artery disease angioplasty: lost opportunities?. Intern J Clin Pract 2015; 69: 162-168.
- 63 Freedman B. et al. Stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation. Lancet 2016; 388: 806-817.
- 64 Lip GY, Lane DA. Bleeding risk assessment in atrial fibrillation: observations on the use and misuse of bleeding risk scores. J Thromb Haemost 2016; 14: 1711-1714.
- 65 Man-Son-Hing M. et al. Choosing antithrombotic therapy for elderly patients with atrial fibrillation who are at risk for falls. Arch Intern Med 1999; 159: 677-685.
- 66 Pisters R. et al. A novel user-friendly score (HAS-BLED) to assess 1-year risk of major bleeding in patients with atrial fibrillation: the Euro Heart Survey. Chest 2010; 138: 1093-1100.
- 67 Senoo K. et al. Evaluation of the HAS-BLED, ATRIA, and ORBIT Bleeding Risk Scores in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Taking Warfarin. Am J Med 2016; 129: 600-607.
- 68 Proietti M. et al. Major Bleeding in Patients with Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation: Impact of Time in Therapeutic Range on Contemporary Bleeding Risk Scores. Sci Rep 2016; 6: 24376.
- 69 Hsu JC. et al. Differences in anticoagulant therapy prescription in patients with paroxysmal versus persistent atrial fibrillation. Am J Med 2015; 128: 654. e1-.e10.
- 70 Hendriks J. et al. Cost-effectiveness of a specialized atrial fibrillation clinic vs. usual care in patients with atrial fibrillation. Europace 2013; 15: 1128-1135.
- 71 Hendriks JM. et al. Nurse-led care vs. usual care for patients with atrial fibrillation: results of a randomized trial of integrated chronic care vs. routine clinical care in ambulatory patients with atrial fibrillation. Eur Heart J 2012; 33: 2692-2699.
- 72 JCS Writing Group. Guidelines for Pharmacotherapy of Atrial Fibrillation (JCS 2013). Circulation J 2014; 78: 1997-2021.
- 73 National-Institute-for-Health-and-Care-Excellence. Atrial fibrillation: the management of atrial fibrillation. (Clinical guideline 180.) 2014 http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG180 2014 http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG180
- 74 Macle L. et al. 2016 Focused Update of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society Guidelines for the Management of Atrial Fibrillation. Canad J Cardiol 2016; 32: 1170-1185.
- 75 Eikelboom JW. et al. Dabigatran in patients with mechanical heart valves. N Engl J Med 2014; 370: 383-384.
- 76 Nishimura RA, Carabello B. Operationalizing the 2014 ACC/AHA Guidelines for Valvular Heart Disease: A Guide for Clinicians. J Am Coll Cardiol 2016; 67: 2289-2294.
- 77 De Caterina R, Camm AJ. What is ’valvular’ atrial fibrillation? A reappraisal. Eur Heart J 2014; 35: 3328-3335.
- 78 Philippart R. et al. Oral anticoagulation, stroke and thromboembolism in patients with atrial fibrillation and valve bioprosthesis. The Loire Valley Atrial Fibrillation Project. Thromb Haemost 2016; 115: 1056-1063.
- 79 Weitz JI, Pollack CV. Jr. Practical management of bleeding in patients receiving non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants. Thromb Haemost 2015; 114: 1113-1126.
- 80 Brekelmans MP. et al. Clinical impact and course of major bleeding with edoxaban versus vitamin K antagonists. Thromb Haemost 2016; 116: 155-161.
- 81 Lowres N. et al. Screening to identify unknown atrial fibrillation. A systematic review. Thromb Haemost 2013; 110: 213-222.
- 82 Blann A. et al. Modelling projections for the uptake of edoxaban in an European population to 2050: effects on stroke, thromboembolism, and health economics perspectives. Europace 2016; 18: 1507-1513.
- 83 Fauchier L. et al. Causes of Death and Influencing Factors in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation. Am J Med 2016; 129: 1278-1287.
- 84 Freedman B. et al. Residual risk of stroke and death in anticaogulant-treated patients with atrial fibrillation. J Am Med Assoc Cardiol 2016; 1: 366-368.
- 85 Paciaroni M, Agnelli G. Should oral anticoagulants be restarted after warfarin-associated cerebral haemorrhage in patients with atrial fibrillation?. Thromb Haemost 2014; 111: 14-18.
- 86 Lip GY. et al. Stroke and major bleeding risk in elderly patients aged >/=75 years with atrial fibrillation: the Loire Valley atrial fibrillation project. Stroke 2015; 46: 143-150.
- 87 Lau YC. et al. Atrial Fibrillation and Thromboembolism in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease. J Am Coll Cardiol 2016; 68: 1452-1464.
- 88 Paciaroni M. et al. Timing of anticoagulation therapy in patients with acute ischaemic stroke and atrial fibrillation. Thromb Haemost 2016; 116: 410-416.
- 89 Chai-Adisaksopha C. et al. Thromboembolic events, recurrent bleeding and mortality after resuming anticoagulant following gastrointestinal bleeding. A meta-analysis. Thromb Haemost 2015; 114: 819-825.
- 90 Fredenburgh JC. et al. Emerging anticoagulant strategies. Blood 2017; 129: 147-154.