Apixaban versus aspirin in patients with atrial fibrillation and previous stroke or transient ischaemic attack: a predefined subgroup analysis from AVERROES, a randomised trial

Background In the AVERROES study, apixaban, a novel factor Xa inhibitor, reduced the risk of stroke or systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation who were at high risk of stroke but unsuitable for vitamin K antagonist therapy. We aimed to investigate whether the subgroup of patients with previous stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) would show a greater benefit from apixaban compared with aspirin than would patients without previous cerebrovascular events