https://doi.org/10.4081/gc.2017.7038

Oral anticoagulant therapy for older patients with atrial fibrillation

Vol. 3 No. 3 (2017)
Submitted: 1 September 2017
Accepted: 14 September 2017
Published: 29 September 2017
Oral anticoagulant therapy, atrial fibrillation.
Abstract Views: 1363
PDF: 743
HTML: 434
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

Mario Bo
mario.bo@unito.it
Section of Geriatrics and Bone Metabolic Diseases, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Italy.
Enrico Brunetti
Section of Geriatrics and Bone Metabolic Diseases, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Italy.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common cardiac arrhythmias. Its incidence and prevalence increase with age, representing a significant burden for health services in western countries. The most feared consequence of AF is cardio-embolic stroke, accounting for roughly one third of ischemic strokes in the elderly. Oral anticoagulant therapy is currently recommended for patients with AF and a CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥2 in men and ≥3 in women, but it is widely underused, particularly in the oldest patients who, in reason of their higher risk of stroke, might benefit more from it. Among the main reasons for anticoagulant underuse in older patients, advanced age itself, physician’s perceived high risk of age-related and fall-related bleedings, and difficulties in monitoring vitamin K antagonists-based therapies are the most frequently reported.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

How to Cite

Bo, M., & Brunetti, E. (2017). Oral anticoagulant therapy for older patients with atrial fibrillation. Geriatric Care, 3(3). https://doi.org/10.4081/gc.2017.7038

PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.