ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation—Executive Summary

Antithrombotic Regimens for Patients Taking Oral Anticoagulation After Coronary Intervention: A Meta‐analysis of 16 Clinical Trials and 9185 Patients

“…A survey among US cardiologists showed that as many as 30% of patients with OAC who are admitted for PCI are discharged without it, and many more physicians are now ready to drop triple therapy because of the major bleeding risk. In fact, an earlier guideline has indicated that the triple therapy regimen contributed more bleeding risks than benefits 33. All these results strongly support that major bleeding has become one of the biggest obstacles to recommending widespread use of the triple therapy regimen.…”

Guideline Recommended Medical Therapy for Cardiovascular Diseases in the Obese: Insights From the Veterans Affairs Clinical Assessment, Reporting, and Tracking (CART) Program

“…Fourth, the study cohort comprised patients undergoing elective PCI from 2007 to 2012, possibly reflecting differences in guideline‐recommended therapy from current practice. However, national societal guidelines for HF and AF have been stable in their recommendation since prior to the study period,16, 21 and contemporaneous clinical trial data and other clinical practice guidelines for diabetes mellitus, coronary, and peripheral arterial and cerebrovascular disease supported the use of statin therapy in these patients 20, 22, 23, 24. Fifth, we are limited by a lack of data on ejection fraction, and are thus unable to discern between HF with preserved ejection fraction and HF with reduced ejection fraction.…”

“…We defined patients as “β‐blocker eligible” if they had a history of HF or prior MI prior to PCI, “statin eligible” if they had a diagnosis of CAD or a CAD equivalent (diabetes mellitus, peripheral arterial disease, or cerebrovascular disease) prior to PCI, “anticoagulant eligible” if they had a history of AF and a CHADS 2 score of >1 (defined by the presence of 1 or more components of the CHADS 2 score in the patient's history: HF, hypertension, age ≥70 years of age, diabetes mellitus, or history of cerebrovascular disease31) prior to PCI, and “ACE or ARB eligible” if they had a history of HF15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21 prior to PCI. Patients were deemed not eligible for specific medications if they had documented contraindications.…”

“…Current and prior guidelines for cardiovascular care recommend the use of specific medical therapies for established atherosclerotic disease and its equivalents, heart failure (HF), atrial fibrillation (AF), and myocardial infarction (MI)15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 to reduce morbidity and mortality. A treatment difference in use of guideline‐recommended medications in the overweight and obese would represent a missed opportunity for secondary prevention.…”

Surgery for Atrial Fibrillation

“…It is the most common cardiac arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice increasing in prevalence with age and the presence of heart disease 1 It is estimated that it affects 2.5 million people in the United States and 4.5 million in the European Union. 2,3 The actual incidence of the arrhythmia may be much higher owing to undetected or asymptomatic patients within the population. Since it is an age-associated arrhythmia its incidence has steadily risen over the past decade and will continue to increase due to a growing population of the elderly in the western world.…”