The Changing Landscape in Oral Anticoagulation – The Last Pieces of the Puzzle

AF is a common cause of stroke, heart failure, hospitalisations, and death in affected patients. [1][2]][3] The management of AF has seen marked changes in recent years with the availability of new anticoagulants, antiarrhythmic drugs, and the wider availability of catheter ablation. 3These changes have resulted in new or updated management guidelines published in Europe, Canada and the US. [4][5]5][6][7] Although most of the recommendations in the guidelines for the management of AF are based on sound evidence, they are not totally consistent 8 and are not always fully implemented into practice. 9-11Therefore, it is important to ascertain how these guidelines are being translated into practice.This is the purpose of the registries that have flourished in recent years.The focus of the registry is to address the current situation pertaining to a particular medical condition and predict how it may change.The Prevention of Thromboembolic Events -European Registry (PREFER) in AF is a multinational, multi-centre, prospective disease registry with the objective of gaining a detailed insight into the characteristics and management of patients with AF.The main focus is the prevention of thromboembolic events.Subjects have completed a baseline visit and will receive a follow-up visit 12 months after baseline.This will provide the opportunity to monitor the changes that occur in the pattern of treatment of AF within a year, at a time of rapid changes in the anticoagulation landscape in Europe.The registry is based in several European countries including Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.For regional comparisons, Austria, Switzerland and Germany were combined into one pre-specified region.