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American Journal of Medicine

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Vitamin K Antagonism (VKA) Therapy in Atrial Fibrillation

There are very effective therapies for the prevention of thromboembolism in patients with atrial fibrillation. Vitamin K antagonists (VKA), notably warfarin, were the subject of many investigations in the 1990s. A meta-analysis of 6 trials involving a total of almost 3,000 patients (Figure 5) found a statistically significant 64% relative risk reduction for thromboembolism when warfarin is used instead of placebo.[8] What is often not pointed out from these otherwise quite familiar data, however, is that there was also a relative risk reduction in mortality of 26%. Camm J. Am J Med 2013; published on-line at http://education.amjmed.com/00000.

References

[8] Hart RG, Pearce LA, Aguilar MI. Meta-analysis: antithrombotic therapy to prevent stroke in patients who have nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146:857-867.