Tag Archives: Xarelto

Mike is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and an interventional cardiologist at the Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston, USA. He is the founder and director of the academic research organization PERFUSE and has been principal investigator or has led core services for over 120 clinical trials, the results of which have been published in leading journals. Mike is also an active user of Twitter (@CMichaelGibson). Amar is a Consultant in Diabetes and Endocrinology at the Good Hope Hospital, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. A regular contributor to the journal, Amar has previously been very active in the Young Diabetologists and Endoc

Drug therapies include anticoagulants to reduce the risk of stroke and anti-arrhythmics to restore/maintain the normal heart rhythm or slow the heart rate in patients who remain in AF. Non-pharmacological management options include electrical cardioversion, which may be used to ‘shock’ the heart back to its normal rhythm. The high risk of stroke associated with electrical cardioversion can be reduced by oral anticoagulation. Although effective in reducing the risk of thromboembolism, the limitations of warfarin present considerable challenges for its use in clinical practice. The challenges of maintaining warfarin within an appropriate th

Understanding the mechanisms of AF lies at the heart of its treatment. AF occurs when structural and/or electrophysiological abnormalities alter atrial tissue to promote abnormal impulse formation and/or propagation (figure 1).3 Multiple clinical risk factors, electrocardiographic/echocardiographic features and biochemical markers are associated with an increased risk of AF (table 1), and, AF can be described in terms of the duration of episodes using a simplified scheme (table 2).3 Figure 1. Mechanisms of atrial fibrillation Table 1. Risk factors3 The aim of treatment is to prevent stroke and alleviate symptoms.4 Drug therapies include antic

Cholesterol lowering significantly reduces stroke in the elderly Use of cholesterol lowering drugs (statins and fibrates) is associated with a one third lower risk of stroke in older adults without previous disease, finds a study published in the BMJ. A research team based in France set out to determine the association between use of lipid-lowering drugs in healthy older people and long-term risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. They tracked 7,484 men and women (average age 74 years) with no known history of vascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, living in three French cities (Bordeaux, Dijon and Montpellier). After an aver