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Review
. 2015 Feb;7(2):165-71.
doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2015.01.23.

Are the novel anticoagulants better than warfarin for patients with atrial fibrillation?

Colleen M Hanley  1 , Peter R Kowey  1
Affiliations
Review

Are the novel anticoagulants better than warfarin for patients with atrial fibrillation?

Colleen M Hanley et al. J Thorac Dis. 2015 Feb.

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality related to stroke due to thromboembolism. Several novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have been developed that dose-dependently inhibit thrombin or activated factor X (factor Xa). These new agents offer potential advantages over vitamin K antagonists, however, several limitations exist. We will review the four large randomized trials comparing the efficacy and safety of new oral anticoagulants with warfarin for stroke prevention in patients with AF as well as assess "real world" data and discuss the limitations of the new agents.

Keywords: Anticoagulants; atrial fibrillation (AF); hemorrhage; stroke; warfarin.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Stroke or systemic embolic events subgroups (A) and major bleeding subgroups (B). Data are n/N, unless otherwise indicated. No data available from RE-LY for the following major bleeding subgroups: sex, creatinine clearance, diabetes, and CHADS2 score. For ROCKET AF no major bleeding data available in the TTR and diabetes subgroup and major and non-major clinically relevant bleeding was used for subgroups of age, sex, CHADS2 score, and creatinine clearance. NOAC, new oral anticoagulant; RR, risk ratio; TIA, transient ischemic attack; VKA, vitamin K antagonist; TTR, time in therapeutic range. [Reproduced with permission from (16)].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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