The guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation (AF) incorporate new risk factors for thromboembolism, trying to de-emphasize the use of the 鈥榣ow鈥? 鈥榤oderate鈥? and 鈥榟igh鈥?risk categories. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of the new scheme CHA2DS2-VASc and of the new recommendations for oral anticoagulation (OAC) in a contemporary sample of patients with AF seen by primary physicians and cardiologists.
Multicenter, observational, cross-sectional study on the epidemiology of hypertension and its control, designed by the arterial hypertension department. Each researcher enrolled the first 6 consenting patients who came for examination during a 5-day period.
Of 25 137 individuals recruited, 1544 were diagnosed with AF. The vast majority of the sample had a CHADS2 score 鈮? (77.3%). Individuals with a risk score lower than 2 were categorized according to the CHA2DS2-VASc score: 14.4%were aged 75 years or older (CHA2DS2-VASc = 2). Of those younger than 75, 42.3%had a CHA2DS2-VASc = 2; 23.7%CHA2DS2-VASc = 3, and 1.1%CHA2DS2-VASc = 4. This means that the 85.1%of the patients with a CHADS2 score <2 and no contraindications are indicated for OAC.
The new recommendations will result in a significant increase in patients with indications for OAC, at the expense of those previously characterized as low-to-moderate risk. Therefore, patients at risk of thromboembolic events must be identified, although an evaluation of bleeding risk should be part of the patient assessment before starting anticoagulation.
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