Vol 13, No 6 (2018)
Original paper
Published online: 2019-02-13
Effect of sex on anticoagulant use for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation: registry with 4,099 patients from a tertiary cardiology centre
DOI: 10.5603/FC.2018.0122
Folia Cardiologica 2018;13(6):510-516.
Abstract
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common supraventricular arrhythmia. AF is characterised by disorganised atrial activation which leads to an impairment of atrial haemodynamic function and, in turn, to serious clinical consequences such as increased risks of heart failure, thromboembolism, and death. AF prevalence increases with age; in people aged < 50 years, the prevalence is 0.1%, whereas in those aged > 85 years it is 17.8%. Although men have a higher risk of AF compared to women, in women, AF more often is symptomatic and associated with more serious complications. Because female sex is a risk factor for thromboembolism, in 2012 the European Society of Cardiology recommended the use of the CHA2DS2-VASc score, which scores 1 point for being female, in assessing the thromboembolic risk in patients with AF. Among hospitalised patients with AF (men and women), this study assessed the thromboembolic risk and evaluated anticoagulant use for stroke prevention.
Keywords: strokeatrial fibrillationsex
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