Do reported annual stroke rates vary across different populations of patients with atrial fibrillation for a given stroke risk point score?
There is wide variation in actual stroke rates for a given stroke risk score across different populations, challenging the assumption that risk scores translate to fixed annual stroke rates.
BACKGROUND: -VASc stroke risk point scores, assuming that those scores translate to fixed stroke rates. However, the relationship between stroke point scores and annual stroke rates may vary substantially across populations. We sought to comprehensively assess the reported rates of stroke in patients with AF and the relationship of stroke rates to stroke risk point scores. METHODS: A systematic review of cohort studies and randomized controlled trials enrolled patients with nonvalvular AF not treated with oral anticoagulants. RESULTS: -VASc score of 2, 27% of cohorts reported stroke rates below 1% per year, 40% reported stroke rates between 1 and 2% per year, and 33% reported stroke rates >2% per year. CONCLUSIONS: -VASc scores of 1 or 2.
Quinn et al. (Tue,) studied this question.