Optimal Oral Anticoagulant Therapy in Patients with Nonrheumatic Atrial Fibrillation and Recent Cerebral Ischemia

Abstract

A number of studies have demonstrated the efficacy of oral anticoagulant therapy in reducing the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonrheumatic atrial fibrillation. However, both the targeted and the actual levels of anticoagulation differed widely among the studies, and a number of studies failed to report standardized prothrombin-time ratios as international normalized ratios (INRs). We therefore performed an analysis to determine the intensity of oral anticoagulant therapy in nonrheumatic atrial fibrillation that provides the best balance between the prevention of thromboembolism and the occurrence of bleeding complications.