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Stroke prevention in patients from Latin American countries with non-valvular atrial fibrillation: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF registry.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Jerjes-Sanchez, Carlos  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3222-7405
Corbalan, Ramon 
Barretto, Antonio CP 
Luciardi, Hector L 
Allu, Jagan 

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an important preventable cause of stroke. Anticoagulation (AC) therapy can reduce this risk. However, prescribing patterns and outcomes in patients with non-valvular AF (NVAF) from Latin American countries are poorly described. METHODS: Using data from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-AF (GARFIELD-AF), we examined the stroke prevention strategies and the 1-year outcomes in patients from four Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. RESULTS: A total of 4162 patients (2010-2014) were included in this analysis. At the time of AF diagnosis, 39.9% of patients were prescribed vitamin K antagonists (VKA) ± antiplatelet (AP) therapy, 21.8% non-VKA oral anticoagulant (NOAC) ± AP, 24.1% AP only and 14.1% no antithrombotic treatment. The proportion of moderate-high risk patients receiving no AC therapy at participating centers was highest in Mexico (46.4%) and lowest in Chile (14.3%). During 1-year follow-up, the rates of all-cause mortality, stroke/SE and major bleeding were: 5.77 (95% CI) (5.06-6.56), 1.58 (1.23-2.02), and 0.99 (0.72-1.36) and per 100 person-years, respectively, which are higher than the global rates across all countries in GARFIELD-AF. Unadjusted rates of all-cause mortality were highest in Argentina, 6.95 (5.43-8.90), and lowest in Chile, 4.01 (2.92-5.52). CONCLUSIONS: GARFIELD-AF results describes the marked variation in the baseline characteristics and patterns of antithrombotic treatments in patients with NVAF in four Latin American countries. Over one-third of patients with a moderate-to-high risk of stroke received no AC therapy, highlighting the need for improved management of patients according to national guideline. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362.

Description

Keywords

Latin American, antithrombotic treatment, atrial fibrillation, outcomes, Aged, Anticoagulants, Atrial Fibrillation, Drug Prescriptions, Drug Utilization, Female, Hemorrhage, Humans, Male, Mexico, Middle Aged, Practice Patterns, Physicians', Prospective Studies, Registries, Retrospective Studies, Risk Factors, South America, Stroke, Treatment Outcome

Journal Title

Clin Cardiol

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0160-9289
1932-8737

Volume Title

42

Publisher

Wiley