This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

European Atrial Fibrillation Trial

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Patients with atrial fibrillation who have experienced a transient ischaemic episode (TIA) or stroke have an increased risk of further cerebrovascular events. Treatments aimed at preventing further strokes are termed secondary prevention therapies.

NICE (1)

  • people with disabling ischaemic stroke who are in atrial fibrillation should be treated with aspirin 300 mg for the first 2 weeks before considering anticoagulation treatment

Evidence has shown that in cases of non-rheumatic atrial fibrillation, anticoagulation reduces of the risk of subsequent stroke. In absolute terms, 90 vascular events, mainly strokes, are prevented if 1000 patients are treated with anticoagulation for one year. The target INR is 2.0-3.0.

Anticoagulant therapy should not be started until brain imaging has excluded haemorrhage, and 14 days have passed from the onset of an ischaemic stroke (2).

Aspirin is safe but less effective and should only be used when anticoagulation is contraindicated. Aspirin prevents 40 vascular events each year for every 1000 patients treated.

Reference:


Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.