New assessment quantifies risks and benefits of warfarin treatment for atrial fibrillation
Monday, August 31, 2009 - 17:14
in Health & Medicine
Warfarin therapy for patients with atrial fibrillation - the most common type of significant heart rhythm disorder - appears to be most beneficial for the oldest patients, those who have had a prior stroke and for patients with multiple risk factors for stroke, according to a new study by Kaiser Permanente and Massachusetts General Hospital researchers. This comparative effectiveness research study - among the first and largest to quantify warfarin's net clinical benefit, how much a treatment's potential benefits outweigh its risks, in the usual clinical care of patients with atrial fibrillation - appears in the September 1 Annals of Internal Medicine.
