Heart failure independently increases the risk of stroke regardless of atrial fibrillation, and non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants represent a potential therapeutic option for stroke prevention.
Heart failure is an independent risk factor for stroke, and the CHA2DS2-VASc score may help identify high-risk patients who could benefit from targeted stroke prevention strategies even without atrial fibrillation.
Heart failure (HF) is one of the major causes of death worldwide. Despite the high incidence of stroke in patients with HF, there has been a controversy as to whether HF itself is a risk factor for stroke. Recently, there is a great deal of evidence that HF itself increases the risk of stroke. In previous studies, the benefit of warfarin for stroke prevention in patients with HF was offset by the risk of bleeding. In the era of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants with low bleeding profiles, we can expect a more effective stroke prevention in patients with HF by selective anticoagulation. The purpose of this review is to describe the relationship between stroke and HF, which could be an unconventional risk factor and a potential intervention target for stroke prevention.
Kim et al. (Wed,) conducted a review in Heart failure. Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) vs. Warfarin was evaluated. Heart failure independently increases the risk of stroke regardless of atrial fibrillation, and non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants represent a potential therapeutic option for stroke prevention.