BACKGROUND: Short and rare episodes of atrial fibrillation (AF) are commonly detected using implanted devices (device-detected AF) in patients with prior stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). The effectiveness and safety of oral anticoagulation in patients with prior stroke or TIA and device-detected AF but with no ECG-documented AF is unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS: This prespecified analysis of the NOAH-AFNET 6 (Non-Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants in Patients With Atrial High Rate Episodes) trial with post hoc elements assessed the effect of oral anticoagulation in patients with device-detected AF with and without a prior stroke or TIA in the randomized, double-blind, double-dummy NOAH-AFNET 6 trial. Outcomes were stroke, systemic embolism, and cardiovascular death (primary outcome) and major bleeding and death (safety outcome). A prior stroke or TIA was found in 253 patients with device-detected AF randomized in the NOAH-AFNET 6 (mean age, 78 years; 36.4% women). There was no treatment interaction with prior stroke or TIA for any of the primary and secondary time-to-event outcomes. In patients with a prior stroke or TIA, 14 out of 122 patients experienced a primary outcome event with anticoagulation (5.7% per patient-year). Without anticoagulation, there were 16 out of 131 patients with an event (6.3% per patient-year). The rate of stroke was lower than expected (anticoagulation: 4 out of 122 [1.6% per patient-year]; no anticoagulation: 6 out of 131 [2.3% per patient-year]). Numerically, there were more major bleeding events with anticoagulation in patients with prior stroke or TIA (8 out of 122 patients) than without anticoagulation (2 out of 131 patients). CONCLUSIONS: Anticoagulation appears to have ambiguous effects in patients with device-detected AF and a prior stroke or TIA in this hypothesis-generating analysis of the NOAH-AFNET 6 in the absence of ECG-documented AF, partially due to a low rate of stroke without anticoagulation.
- MeSH
- antikoagulancia * aplikace a dávkování škodlivé účinky terapeutické užití MeSH
- aplikace orální MeSH
- časové faktory MeSH
- cévní mozková příhoda * prevence a kontrola etiologie MeSH
- dvojitá slepá metoda MeSH
- fibrilace síní * farmakoterapie komplikace diagnóza MeSH
- kardiostimulátor MeSH
- krvácení chemicky indukované MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- senioři nad 80 let MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- tranzitorní ischemická ataka * prevence a kontrola etiologie MeSH
- výsledek terapie MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- senioři nad 80 let MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- multicentrická studie MeSH
- randomizované kontrolované studie MeSH
- MeSH
- antikoagulancia * aplikace a dávkování terapeutické užití MeSH
- aplikace orální MeSH
- cévní mozková příhoda prevence a kontrola epidemiologie MeSH
- fibrilace síní * farmakoterapie komplikace MeSH
- kardiovaskulární nemoci prevence a kontrola epidemiologie MeSH
- komorbidita MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- sexuální faktory MeSH
- věkové faktory MeSH
- výsledek terapie MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Patients with long atrial high-rate episodes (AHREs) ≥24 h and stroke risk factors are often treated with anticoagulation for stroke prevention. Anticoagulation has never been compared with no anticoagulation in these patients. METHODS: This secondary pre-specified analysis of the Non-vitamin K antagonist Oral anticoagulants in patients with Atrial High-rate episodes (NOAH-AFNET 6) trial examined interactions between AHRE duration at baseline and anticoagulation with edoxaban compared with placebo in patients with AHRE and stroke risk factors. The primary efficacy outcome was a composite of stroke, systemic embolism, or cardiovascular death. The safety outcome was a composite of major bleeding and death. Key secondary outcomes were components of these outcomes and electrocardiogram (ECG)-diagnosed atrial fibrillation. RESULTS: Median follow-up of 2389 patients with core lab-verified AHRE was 1.8 years. AHRE ≥24 h were present at baseline in 259/2389 patients (11%, 78 ± 7 years old, 28% women, CHA2DS2-VASc 4). Clinical characteristics were not different from patients with shorter AHRE. The primary outcome occurred in 9/132 patients with AHRE ≥24 h (4.3%/patient-year, 2 strokes) treated with anticoagulation and in 14/127 patients treated with placebo (6.9%/patient-year, 2 strokes). Atrial high-rate episode duration did not interact with the efficacy (P-interaction = .65) or safety (P-interaction = .98) of anticoagulation. Analyses including AHRE as a continuous parameter confirmed this. Patients with AHRE ≥24 h developed more ECG-diagnosed atrial fibrillation (17.0%/patient-year) than patients with shorter AHRE (8.2%/patient-year; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: This hypothesis-generating analysis does not find an interaction between AHRE duration and anticoagulation therapy in patients with device-detected AHRE and stroke risk factors. Further research is needed to identify patients with long AHRE at high stroke risk.
- MeSH
- antikoagulancia terapeutické užití MeSH
- cévní mozková příhoda * etiologie prevence a kontrola diagnóza MeSH
- fibrilace síní * komplikace farmakoterapie diagnóza MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- pyridiny * MeSH
- rizikové faktory MeSH
- senioři nad 80 let MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- srdeční síně MeSH
- thiazoly * MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- senioři nad 80 let MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
BACKGROUND: Device-detected atrial high-rate episodes (AHREs) are atrial arrhythmias detected by implanted cardiac devices. AHREs resemble atrial fibrillation but are rare and brief. Whether the occurrence of AHREs in patients without atrial fibrillation (as documented on a conventional electrocardiogram [ECG]) justifies the initiation of anticoagulants is not known. METHODS: We conducted an event-driven, double-blind, double-dummy, randomized trial involving patients 65 years of age or older who had AHREs lasting for at least 6 minutes and who had at least one additional risk factor for stroke. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive edoxaban or placebo. The primary efficacy outcome was a composite of cardiovascular death, stroke, or systemic embolism, evaluated in a time-to-event analysis. The safety outcome was a composite of death from any cause or major bleeding. RESULTS: The analysis population consisted of 2536 patients (1270 in the edoxaban group and 1266 in the placebo group). The mean age was 78 years, 37.4% were women, and the median duration of AHREs was 2.8 hours. The trial was terminated early, at a median follow-up of 21 months, on the basis of safety concerns and the results of an independent, informal assessment of futility for the efficacy of edoxaban; at termination, the planned enrollment had been completed. A primary efficacy outcome event occurred in 83 patients (3.2% per patient-year) in the edoxaban group and in 101 patients (4.0% per patient-year) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.60 to 1.08; P = 0.15). The incidence of stroke was approximately 1% per patient-year in both groups. A safety outcome event occurred in 149 patients (5.9% per patient-year) in the edoxaban group and in 114 patients (4.5% per patient-year) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.67; P = 0.03). ECG-diagnosed atrial fibrillation developed in 462 of 2536 patients (18.2% total, 8.7% per patient-year). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with AHREs detected by implantable devices, anticoagulation with edoxaban did not significantly reduce the incidence of a composite of cardiovascular death, stroke, or systemic embolism as compared with placebo, but it led to a higher incidence of a composite of death or major bleeding. The incidence of stroke was low in both groups. (Funded by the German Center for Cardiovascular Research and others; NOAH-AFNET 6 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02618577; ISRCTN number, ISRCTN17309850.).
- MeSH
- antikoagulancia * škodlivé účinky terapeutické užití MeSH
- cévní mozková příhoda etiologie prevence a kontrola MeSH
- dvojitá slepá metoda MeSH
- embolie * farmakoterapie etiologie MeSH
- fibrilace síní komplikace diagnóza MeSH
- implantované elektrody MeSH
- inhibitory faktoru Xa * škodlivé účinky terapeutické užití MeSH
- krvácení chemicky indukované MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- rizikové faktory MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- srdeční arytmie * komplikace diagnóza MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- randomizované kontrolované studie MeSH