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Anticoagulant Therapy in Geriatric Patients with Atrial Fibrillation by Veronika Slezáková1, Zoltán Varga1, Mária Potočárová2, Michal Božík3, Andrej Dukát4, Ján Murín2, Miriam Petrová1, Martin Wawruch1 is a scholarly article available to read on EtoBox.

What is Anticoagulant Therapy in Geriatric Patients with Atrial Fibrillation about?

Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate the utilization of warfarin in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). We assessed the prescription of anticoagulants in relation to risk factors for stroke. Methods: The utilization of antithrombotics was analyzed in 292 patients aged ≥ 65 years with a CHADS2 score ≥ 2 and without any contraindications for anticoagulant therapy. The patients were hospitalized at geriatric wards of three regional hospitals during a period from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2009. We compared the frequency of risk factors for stroke between users and non-users of warfarin. Results: Warfarin was prescribed in 110 (37.7 %) patients with AF. The risk factors for stroke associated with significantly higher warfarin prescription included heart failure (p = 0.039), diabetes mellitus (p < 0.001) and arterial vascular disease (p = 0.008). Women were more frequently present in the group of warfarin non-users (p = 0.010). We found no difference in the CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores in the groups of patients with and without warfarin prescription. Conclusion: Elderly patients with AF require special attention regarding the prescription of anticoagulant the

Author

Veronika Slezáková1, Zoltán Varga1, Mária Potočárová2, Michal Božík3, Andrej Dukát4, Ján Murín2, Miriam Petrová1, Martin Wawruch1

Published

2013