Differences and time trends in drug treatment of atrial fibrillation in men and women and doctors' adherence to warfarin therapy recommendations

Source: European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology Area: Evidence > Medicines Management > References Background: Little is known about prescription trends in atrial fibrillation (AF) in primary health care in Sweden. Objective: The aim was to study time trends in pharmacotherapy, in men and women with AF.  We also aimed at studying doctors' adherence to CHADS2 for prescribing warfarin.  CHADS2 assesses stroke risk by presence of known risk factors, i.e. congestive heart failure, hypertension, age over 75 years, diabetes, previous stroke and transient ischaemic attack. Methods: Data were obtained from primary health care records that contained individual clinical data.  In total, 371,036 patients were included in the sample from 2002, and 424,329 patients were included in the sample from 2007.  The study population consisted of individuals aged 45+ years who were diagnosed with AF in 2002 (1330 men and 1096 women) and 2007 (2748 men and 2234 women).  The pharmacotherapies prescribed in 2002 and 2007 were analysed separately in men and women. ...
Source: NeLM - Cardiovascular Medicine - Category: Cardiology Source Type: news