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New Knowledge, Old Patients
David A. Brechtelsbauer, MD
Arch Fam Med. 1995;4(12):1014-1016.
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| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings. |
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FIVE RANDOMIZED clinical trials published between 1989 and 1992 compared the efficacy and safety of warfarin sodium, aspirin, and placebo for the prevention of strokes among patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF).1-5 These well-accepted studies formed the basis for an unambiguous recommendation by the American College of Chest Physicians Third Consensus Conference on Antithrombotic Therapy:
It is strongly recommended that long-term oral warfarin therapy be used in patients with atrial fibrillation who are eligible for anticoagulation.6
Prior to the five clinical trials, the role of anticoagulation for patients with atrial fibrillation was controversial.7-9 Clinical reasoning led to agreement that patients with atrial fibrillation and mitral valve disease (called "rheumatic" atrial fibrillation, because traditionally rheumatic heart disease was the major cause of mitral valve disease and atrial fibrillation, or "valvular" atrial fibrillation [VAF], because currently nonrheumatic disease is related to most cases of mitral valve disease and
. . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]
Author Affiliations
University of South Dakota School of Medicine Sioux Falls
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