Electrophysiology
Anticoagulation in AF
DOACs vs warfarin, bleeding risk, and stroke prevention
Emerging pathwayAlso known as: DOAC AF, NOAC atrial fibrillation, AF anticoagulation
3,978
Clinical questions
209
Evidence-backed
100
Claims analyzed
Electrophysiology
DOACs vs warfarin, bleeding risk, and stroke prevention
Synthesized from 209 evidence-backed clinical questions linked to this topic — 83 supporting the intervention, 75 against the intervention, 10 still contested.
Does ethanol vs placebo improve outcomes in Persistent atrial fibrillation?
Low Certainty− Favors harmethanol vs placebo
59 studies (25,167,216 patients) provide low-certainty evidence against benefit of ethanol for the outcome in Persistent atrial fibrillation.
Does beta blockers vs placebo improve outcomes in Atrial Fibrillation?
Low Certainty+ Favors benefitbeta blockers vs placebo
19 studies (4,622,940 patients) provide low-certainty evidence for benefit of beta blockers for the outcome in Atrial Fibrillation.
Does warfarin vs doac improve outcomes in Atrial Fibrillation?
Low Certainty− Favors harmwarfarin vs doac
5 studies (2,398,862 patients) provide low-certainty evidence against benefit of warfarin for the outcome in Atrial Fibrillation.
Does direct oral anticoagulants vs warfarin improve outcomes in Obesity?
Low Certainty+ Favors benefitdirect oral anticoagulants vs warfarin
5 studies (2,171,600 patients) provide low-certainty evidence for benefit of direct oral anticoagulants for the outcome in Obesity.
Does beta-blockers vs calcium channel blockers improve outcomes in Atrial Fibrillation?
Low Certainty+ Favors benefitbeta-blockers vs calcium channel blockers
3 studies (1,981,412 patients) provide low-certainty evidence for benefit of beta-blockers for the outcome in Atrial Fibrillation.
Does vitamin k antagonists vs placebo improve outcomes in HEART-VALVE, MECHANICAL?
Low Certainty− Favors harmvitamin k antagonists vs placebo
55 studies (1,622,061 patients) provide low-certainty evidence against benefit of vitamin k antagonists for the outcome in HEART-VALVE, MECHANICAL.
Does oral anticoagulants vs placebo improve Stroke (Safety Event) in Atrial Fibrillation?
Insufficient~ Mixed resultsoral anticoagulants vs placebo · Stroke (Safety Event)
11 studies (240,230 patients) provide insufficient evidence with mixed findings regarding oral anticoagulants for Stroke (Safety Event) in Atrial Fibrillation.
Does noac vs salicylic acid 120 mg/ml topical solution improve outcomes in Atrial Fibrillation?
Insufficient~ Mixed resultsnoac vs salicylic acid 120 mg/ml topical solution
8 studies (746,143 patients) provide insufficient evidence with mixed findings regarding noac for the outcome in Atrial Fibrillation.
Emerging evidence with 100 primary claims
Specific, answerable questions in this area — each with its own synthesized evidence and consensus. Open one to see the forest plot, source trials, and how the consensus has changed over time.
Does oral anticoagulation vs placebo improve All-Cause Mortality in Atrial Fibrillation?
Low Certainty+ Favors benefitoral anticoagulation vs placebo · All-Cause Mortality
Does dabigatran vs warfarin improve outcomes in HEART-VALVE, MECHANICAL?
Low Certainty+ Favors benefitdabigatran vs warfarin · Ventricular Arrhythmia
Questions where the synthesized consensus has shifted as new trials were indexed.
VA Journal Club: Factor XI Inhibitors and Atrial Fibrillation
UCLA #bruinhearts Journal Club Section — Fri, Aug 7, 11:00 AM EDT
Test session
Synapse Team — Tue, Jun 16, 8:00 PM EDT
Sessions from public journal clubs on Synapse. RSVP to join the live discussion.
Home prothrombin time monitoring: A literature analysis
American Journal of Hematology — Robetorye R — Sep 2004
Prevention of Stroke in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation
Seminars in Vascular Medicine — Olsson S — Aug 2005
A combined pharmacometric analysis of dabigatran etexilate in healthy volunteers and patients with atrial fibrillation or undergoing orthopaedic surgery
Thrombosis and Haemostasis — Jan 2012
Risk of falls and bleeding in elderly patients with acute venous thromboembolism
Journal of Internal Medicine — Kämpfen P — Mar 2014
Non-Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants and Antiplatelet Therapy for Stroke Prevention in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation
Cardiology in Review — Kumar S — Aug 2015
Follow this topic to get a weekly “what changed” evidence digest and alerts when journal clubs schedule sessions on it.
Anticoagulation in AF (also known as DOAC AF, NOAC atrial fibrillation, AF anticoagulation). DOACs vs warfarin, bleeding risk, and stroke prevention
Synapse tracks 8 specific clinical questions in Anticoagulation in AF, each synthesized independently from its own trial evidence. They include: "Does oral anticoagulation vs placebo improve All-Cause Mortality in Atrial Fibrillation?"; "Does dabigatran vs warfarin improve outcomes in HEART-VALVE, MECHANICAL?"; "Does rivaroxaban vs apixaban improve outcomes?"; "Does oral anticoagulants vs placebo improve Intracranial Hemorrhage in Atrial Fibrillation?"; "Does warfarin vs placebo improve All-Cause Mortality in Atrial Fibrillation?".
As of 2026-08-14, the scientific consensus on Anticoagulation in AF is emerging. Emerging evidence with 100 primary claims Based on 100 analyzed claims across Synapse's enriched corpus, the evidence shows.
This evidence brief synthesizes Synapse's enriched cardiology corpus; cite as synapsesocial.com/topics/anticoagulation-in-af.
Deterministic synthesis from Synapse's enriched corpus — 129 words. No AI-generated novel content; every figure is sourced from the underlying paper, guideline, or trial record linked on this page.
Explore every Anticoagulation in AF paper on Synapse with AI-enriched clinical evidence, PICO analysis, and methodology classification.
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