The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) is high in both community- and hospital-based studies in the Far East and South East Asia. Hypertension is the most common risk factor, but coronary heart disease and diabetes mellitus are other important co-morbidities in these countries. Anticoagulant therapy use was low, being 0.5%–28% in Malaysia, Singapore, and China. The reported rate of stroke related to AF was 13.0%–15.4% based on community studies in those countries and was 3.1%–24.2% of stroke rate in hospital-based cohorts. Better assessment of thromboembolic and bleeding risks is important. International guidelines now recommend the use of the CHA2DS2-VASc score to identify the ‘‘truly low-risk’’ AF patients, who do not need antithrombotic therapy, whilst those with ≥ 1 stroke risk factors can be offered oral anticoagulation. Aspirin is ineffective and may not be any safer than oral anticoagulants, especially in the elderly. It is anticipated that the availability of the new oral anticoagulant drugs would improve our efforts for stroke prevention in the Far East and South East Asia, especially where anticoagulation monitoring for warfarin is suboptimal.

Non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia in the clinical setting. AF increases both the risk and severity of strokes, and is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Despite the clear net clinical benefit of oral anticoagulants (OACs) in patients with AF at risk for stroke, major bleeding events, especially intracranial bleeds, may be devastating. In the last decade, four new OACs have been approved for stroke prevention in patients with AF and are at least as effective as warfarin with better bleeding profiles. These new agents have changed and simplified our approach to stroke prevention because the threshold for initiation of OACs is lowered. An important clinical practice shift is the initial identification of "low-risk" patients who do not need antithrombotic therapy, with low-risk comprising CHA2DS2-VASc {Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age > or =75 years (double), Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke/transient ischemic attack/thromboembolism (double), Vascular disease, Age 65-74 years, and female gender (score of 0 for males and 1 for female)}. Subsequent to this step, effective stroke prevention consisting of OACs can be offered to patients with one or more stroke risk factors. Apart from stroke risk, another consideration is bleeding risk assessment, with a focus on the use of the validated HAS-BLED {Hypertension, Abnormal renal/liver function, Stroke, Bleeding history, Labile international normalized ratio (INR), Elderly (age >65 years), drugs or alcohol concomitantly} score. A high HAS-BLED score can flag patients potentially at risk for bleeding, and alert clinicians to the need for careful review and follow up, and the need to consider potentially correctable bleeding risk factors that include uncontrolled hypertension, labile INRs, concomitant aspirin use, and alcohol excess.
Aged ; Anticoagulants ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Aspirin ; Atrial Fibrillation* ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Failure ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Hypertension ; International Normalized Ratio ; Male ; Mortality ; Risk Assessment ; Risk Factors ; Stroke* ; Vascular Diseases ; Warfarin

Atrial fibrillation (AF) patients are often high risk being elderly and having multiple comorbidities. Many risk factors are established to be associated with new onset incident AF, as well as AF-related complications such as stroke and hospitalisations. Multimorbidity AF patients are high risk and require a holistic approach to care, which should be proactively managing with an integrated care or holistic approach as per the ABC (atrial fibrillation better care) pathway.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia conferring a fivefold increased risk of stroke. Stroke prevention is the cornerstone of management of patients with AF. Asians have a generally higher incidence of AF-related risks of stroke and bleeding (particularly intracranial bleeding), compared with non-Asians. Despite the well-documented efficacy and relative safety of oral anticoagulation for stroke prevention among Asians, the suboptimal use of oral anticoagulation remains common. The current narrative review aims to provide a summary of the available evidence on stroke prevention among patients with AF focused on the Asia region, regarding stroke and bleeding risk evaluation, the performance of oral anticoagulation, and current use of thromboprophylaxis.
Anticoagulants ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Asia ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Atrial Fibrillation ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Incidence ; Stroke

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia conferring a fivefold increased risk of stroke. Stroke prevention is the cornerstone of management of patients with AF. Asians have a generally higher incidence of AF-related risks of stroke and bleeding (particularly intracranial bleeding), compared with non-Asians. Despite the well-documented efficacy and relative safety of oral anticoagulation for stroke prevention among Asians, the suboptimal use of oral anticoagulation remains common. The current narrative review aims to provide a summary of the available evidence on stroke prevention among patients with AF focused on the Asia region, regarding stroke and bleeding risk evaluation, the performance of oral anticoagulation, and current use of thromboprophylaxis.

Background and Objectives: Antithrombotic therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) has changed in recent years with new data from large randomized trials and updates to clinical guidelines. This study aimed to investigate the trends in periprocedural antithrombotic regimens in Korean patients with AF undergoing PCI with non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs). Methods: Using the claims database of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment during 2013–2018, 27,594 patients with AF undergoing PCI were identified. The annual prevalence of PCI and prescriptions of each antithrombotic agent, including antiplatelet agents and oral anticoagulants, within 30 days after PCI were investigated. Results: During 2013–2018, the number of patients with AF undergoing PCI increased up to 1.3-fold (from 3,913 to 5,075 patients per year). After the introduction of NOACs, the proportion of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) decreased from 71.9% to 49.8% but still occupied the largest proportion among antithrombotic regimens. Triple antithrombotic therapy (TAT) use increased from 25.4% to 46.0%, and NOAC has rapidly replaced warfarin as the oral anticoagulant of choice. TAT was preferred to DAPT for patients with CHA2 DS2 -VASc score ≥2. Among various factors, prior intracranial hemorrhage was the most powerful predictor of favoring DAPT use over TAT. Conclusion Since the introduction of NOACs, the patterns of periprocedural antithrombotic regimens have changed rapidly toward more use of TAT, specifically with NOAC-based regimen. Appropriate stroke prevention with oral anticoagulants is still underutilized in patients with AF undergoing PCI in Korea.