Background There is a paucity of contemporary data estimating the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events ( MACE ) in patients with established atherosclerotic disease or multiple risk factors managed in routine practice. We estimated 1‐ and 4‐year incidences of MACE and the association between MACE and vascular beds affected in these patients. Methods and Results Using US IBM MarketScan data from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2017, we identified patients ≥45 years old with established coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral artery disease, or the presence of ≥3 risk factors for atherosclerosis during 2013 with a minimum of 4 years of follow‐up. We calculated 1‐ and 4‐year incidences of MACE (cardiovascular death or hospitalization for myocardial infarction or ischemic stroke). A Cox proportional hazards regression model adjusted for age and sex was used to evaluate the association between vascular bed number/location(s) affected and MACE . We identified 1 302 856 patients with established atherosclerotic disease or risk factors for atherosclerosis. Coronary artery disease was present in 16.9% of patients, cerebrovascular disease in 7.6%, peripheral artery disease in 13.6%, and risk factors for atherosclerosis only in 66.0%. The 1‐ and 4‐year incidences of MACE were 1.4% and 6.9%, respectively. At 4 years, MACE was more frequent in patients with atherosclerotic disease in a single (hazard ratio=1.51, 95% CI =1.48–1.55), 2‐(hazard ratio=2.35, 95% CI =2.27–2.44), or all 3 vascular beds (hazard ratio=3.30, 95% CI =2.97–3.68) compared with having risk factors for atherosclerosis. Conclusions Patients with established atherosclerotic disease or who have multiple risk factors and are treated in contemporary, routine practice carry a substantial risk for MACE at 1‐ and 4‐ years of follow‐up. MACE risk was shown to vary based on the number and location of vascular beds involved.

Extended thromboprophylaxis with oral anticoagulation can reduce the risk of symptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE) in high-risk patients. We sought to estimate the proportion of medically ill patients in the United States who might qualify for extended thromboprophylaxis according to the criteria used in the Medically-Ill Patient Assessment of Rivaroxaban versus Placebo in Reducing Post-Discharge Venous ThromboEmbolism Risk (MARINER) trial. We analyzed 2014 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) data that provide a 20% weighted annual sample of all discharges from US acute-care hospitals. Hospitalizations for acute medically ill patients were identified as those with a primary discharge diagnosis code for heart or respiratory failure, ischemic stroke, infection, or inflammatory diseases. Patients were excluded if they were <40 years old, admitted for surgery or trauma, had a length of stay <3-or >35-days, or were contraindicated to nonvitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants. The modified International Medical Prevention Registry on Venous Thromboembolism (IMPROVE)-VTE score was used to stratify patients' risk for postdischarge VTE, with a score of 2 to 3 suggesting patients were at moderate-and 4 as high-risk. Of the 35 358 810 hospitalizations in the 2014 NIS, 1 849 535 were medically ill patients admitted for heart failure (10.1%), respiratory failure (12.2%), ischemic stroke (8.8%), infection (58.5%), or inflammatory diseases (10.4%). The modified IMPROVE-VTE score classified 1 186 475 (64.1%) of these hospitalizations as occurring in moderate-risk and 407 095 (22.0%) in high-risk patients. This real-world study suggests a substantial proportion of acute medically ill patients might benefit from extended thromboprophylaxis using the modified IMPROVE-VTE score and clinical elements of the MARINER trial.

Objectives We sought to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of rivaroxaban vs apixaban in non‐valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) and/or receiving dialysis in routine practice. Methods Using US MarketScan claims data from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2017, we identified new‐users of rivaroxaban or apixaban during 2015 with at least 12 months of insurance coverage prior to oral anticoagulant (OAC) initiation. Differences in baseline covariates between cohorts were adjusted using inverse probability‐of‐treatment weighting based on propensity scores. Patients were followed for stroke or systemic embolism (SSE) or major bleeding hospitalizations. Cox proportion hazards regression was used to compare rivaroxaban and apixaban. Analyses stratified by age, sex, CHA2DS2‐VASc score, prior stroke, prior bleed, diabetes, and reduced OAC dose were performed. Results We identified 787 rivaroxaban and 1836 apixaban users. Median (25, 75% range) age = 70 (61, 79), CHA2DS2‐VASc score = 3 (2, 4), and follow‐up = 0.87 (0.38, 1.56) years. No differences in the risks of SSE (HR = 1.18, 95% CI = 0.53‐2.63), ischemic stroke (HR = 1.12, 95%CI = 0.45‐2.76), or major bleeding (HR = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.63‐1.58) were observed. No significant interactions were observed upon subgroup analysis. Conclusion In NVAF patients with ESRD and/or receiving dialysis, rivaroxaban and apixaban were associated with similar risks of SSE and major bleeding.