New possibilities in the prevention of stroke in atrial fibrillation

The paper reviews the data available in the literature on the prevention of stroke in atrial fibrillation (AF). Until recently, mainly warfarin was noted to be used to prevent stroke in AF, which required regulatory laboratory (hematological) control. The authors give the results of the RE-LY trial that compared the efficacy of the new thrombin inhibitor dabigatran (pradax) in a dose of 150 or 110 mg twice daily and warfarin. The trial has indicated that the use of dabigatran in a dose of 150 mg twice daily results in a reduction in the rate of stroke and systemic embolism as compared to that with warfarin treatment. The administration of dabigatran in a dose of 150 or 110 mg twice daily decreases the rate of deaths from all cases, life-threatening hemorrhages, and hemorrhagic stroke as compared to that of warfarin. The prospects for using different doses of dabigatran in AF patients with prior ischemic stroke (IS) or transient ischemic attack (TIA) are discussed. In our country, most patients with prior IS or TIA in the presence of AF do not take warfarin due to the difficulty of regulatory laboratory control, the introduction of dabigatran into neurological care may increase the number of patients receiving effective anticoagulant therapy to prevent re-stroke.