Do oral anticoagulation and catheter ablation prevent dementia and cognitive decline in patients with atrial fibrillation?
This review highlights accumulating evidence that non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants and catheter ablation may help prevent or delay cognitive decline and dementia in patients with atrial fibrillation.
Abstract Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common cardiac arrhythmia in the elderly population, has been associated with an impairment of cognitive function and an increased risk of dementia. Even though there does not appear to be solid evidence that any specific treatment prevents or delays AF-associated cognitive decline, evidence is accumulating regarding the possible treatment strategies for preventing dementia. Oral anticoagulation, especially non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants rather than warfarin use, has been suggested to be associated with reduced risk of dementia. Successfully maintaining sinus rhythm using catheter ablation might be also helpful in preventing subsequent dementia in patients with AF. In this review, we critically appraise the proposed treatment strategies for preventing AF-associated cognitive decline.
Kim et al. (Fri,) studied this question.