Abstract
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with high risk of systemic thromboembolism
leading to significant morbidity and mortality. Warfarin, previously the mainstay
for stroke prevention in AF, requires close monitoring because of multiple food and
drug interactions. In recent years, food and drug administration has approved several
direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) for use in patients with nonvalvular AF. These
agents have not been studied in patients with valvular AF who are at an even higher
risk of systemic thromboembolism. DOACs do not require frequent blood testing or changes
in dosage except when renal function deteriorates, however, the lack of established
antidotes for many of these agents remains a challenge. Also, currently there is no
head-to-head comparison between these agents to guide clinical choice. This article
discusses the advantages and disadvantages of currently approved oral antithrombotics
in nonvalvular AF, with a special emphasis on the DOACs and their individual characteristics.
Key Indexing Terms
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 17, 2018
Accepted:
January 22,
2018
Received:
October 25,
2017
Footnotes
☆The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. Published by All rights reserved.
