This presentation addresses the need for anticoagulation therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib) who present in routine clinical practice.  The 4 most important clinical characteristics of these patients can be grouped as 

• age
  
• gender
  
• prior or incident heart failure 
  
• underlying coronary artery disease (CAD), often presenting as an episode of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) 

and physicians need to consider and be aware of the particular risk profiles and therapeutic challenges that these clinical patient profiles present.

French WJ. Am J Med 2013; 126: 00-00.