August 3, 2012Stroke270 citationsOpen Access
View Full PaperOral Antithrombotic Agents for the Prevention of Stroke in Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation
Structured PICO
Do oral antithrombotic agents prevent stroke in adults with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation?
P
Population
Adults with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation
I
Intervention
Oral antithrombotic agents
O
Outcome
Strokehard clinical
Stratification of stroke risk is important when using oral antithrombotic agents for stroke prevention in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation due to the major risk of bleeding.
Abstract
T he rate of stroke among adults with atrial fibrilla- tion (AF) varies widely, ranging between 1% and 20% annually (mean 4.5% per year) depending on comorbidities and a patient's history of prior cerebrovascular events. 1 Stratification of stroke risk is important, because the major risk of antithrombotic medications used to lower the incidence of AF-related stroke is bleeding. 2]