Abstract
Thromboembolism is the major complication in atrial fibrillation (AF), and its prevention constitutes a major challenge in the modern treatment of this common arrhythmia. The embolic risk is not equal in all subgroups of AF patients but relates to the underlying heart condition: while nonrheumatic AF carries a 5.6-fold embolic risk, arrhythmia of rheumatic origin carries a 17.6-fold risk in comparison with healthy controls. However, nonrheumatic AF is responsible for the larger percentage of strokes (15%-20% of cerebrovascular accidents of ischemic origin). Another important factor affecting the risk of thromboembolism is age: cerebrovascular accidents associated with AF represent 6.7% of the total number of cerebrovascular accidents in the 50- to 59-year-old group and 36.2% in the over 80-year-old group [1, 2].
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Wyse G, on the behalf of the Atrial Fibrillation Follow-up Investigation of Rhythm Management (AFFIRM) trial. Communication of American College of Cardiology 51st Annual Scientific session, 2002
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© 2003 Springer-Verlag Italia
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Capucci, A., Villani, G.Q. (2003). The AFFIRM Study and Its Implications for the Pharmacological Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation. In: Gulizia, M. (eds) New Advances in Heart Failure and Atrial Fibrillation. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2087-0_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2087-0_23
Publisher Name: Springer, Milano
Print ISBN: 978-88-470-2169-3
Online ISBN: 978-88-470-2087-0
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