Frequency, Patient Characteristics, Treatment Strategies, and Resource Usage of Atrial Fibrillation (from the Italian Survey of Atrial Fibrillation Management [ISAF] Study)

Comparison of dabigatran versus warfarin in diabetic patients with atrial fibrillation: Results from the RE-LY trial

“…In the Italian Survey on Atrial Fibrillation Management (ISAF Study) [4], DM was found to be the most common condition associated with AF after hypertension, affecting 29.2% of patients. Similar data were reported in The Euro Heart Survey on Atrial Fibrillation [3], in which DM affected 18% of 5333 AF patients. Thus, patients with DM are an important sub-group of AF patients, with unique issues which must be understood.…”

“…Patients with AF have a five-fold increased risk of stroke compared to patients without AF [1]; however, patients' absolute risk is modulated by age and the presence of cardiovascular conditions. DM is one of the most frequent comorbidities among patients with AF [2,3] and cohort studies demonstrate that the presence of DM is associated with an increased risk of developing AF [4,5]. Multiple studies have identified DM as a strong independent predictor for stroke among AF patients [6] and as a result, DM is an important component of all major AF-stroke risk stratification schemes, such as CHA 2 DS 2 -VASC [7,8].…”

Vitamin K Antagonist Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Time in Therapeutic Range in Four European Countries

“…Generally speaking, the characteristics of the AF patients evaluated were consistent with previous findings from real-life cohorts in France, 40 Germany, 41 and Italy. 42 With such databases, it is impossible to ensure that all medical events are exhaustively documented, particularly if they are not the specific objective of the GP consultation. Thus, it is useful to compare the event rates documented in our study with those reported in dedicated patient cohorts in real-life conditions of care.…”

Real-practice thromboprophylaxis in atrial fibrillation

“…In particular, anticoagulant treatment is highly recommended for patients with CHADS2 or CHA2DS2-VASC scores ≥ 2. However, even if oral anticoagulation is effective in preventing strokes due to AF (12), there is extensive evidence suggesting that this therapy remains underused (4,10,(13)(14)(15). Despite, the data from the literature is clearly showing that the efficacy of antiplatelet agents in thromboembolic prevention is significantly lower than that of oral anticoagulant therapy (14).…”