For physicians, one of the principal challenges will be what to do with patients who are perceived to be at low risk.  In the initial presentation in this session Dr Reiffel presented a summary of the differences between the CHADS₂ and the CHA₂DS₂-VASc scoring systems.  As discussed then, although patients with a CHADS₂ score of 0 to 1 may seem be a low-risk group, there are subsets of these patients who are actually at higher risk of a stroke.  The CHA₂DS₂-VASc scoring system enables physicians to more accurately stage these patients and may enable discovery that these patients’ stroke risk is actually double that indicated by a CHADS₂ score of  0 to 1.[63] [64]

Rothman SA. Am J Med 2013; 126: 00-00.