Timing of anticoagulation after recent ischaemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation

Publication date: Available online 8 November 2018Source: The Lancet NeurologyAuthor(s): David J Seiffge, David J Werring, Maurizio Paciaroni, Jesse Dawson, Steven Warach, Truman J Milling, Stefan T Engelter, Urs Fischer, Bo NorrvingSummaryBackgroundAbout 13–26% of all acute ischaemic strokes are related to non-valvular atrial fibrillation, the most common cardiac arrhythmia globally. Deciding when to initiate oral anticoagulation in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation is a longstanding, common, and unresolved clinical challenge. Although the risk of early recurrent ischaemic stroke is high in this population, early oral anticoagulation is suspected to increase the risk of potentially harmful intracranial haemorrhage, including haemorrhagic transformation of the infarct. This assumption, and current treatment guidelines, are based on historical, mostly observational data from patients with ischaemic stroke and atrial fibrillation treated with heparins, heparinoids, or vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) to prevent recurrent ischaemic stroke. Randomised controlled trials have subsequently shown that direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs; ie, apixaban, dabigatran, edoxaban, and rivaroxaban) are at least as effective as VKAs in primary and secondary prevention of atrial fibrillation-related ischaemic stroke, with around half the risk of intracranial haemorrhage. However, none of these DOAC trials included patients who had experienced ischaemic stroke recently (within the first...
Source: The Lancet Neurology - Category: Neurology Source Type: research