Anticoagulant therapy and components of the metabolic syndrome in patients with atrial fibrillation in real outpatient clinical practice

The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients hospitalized in the therapeutic and cardiology departments of the St. Petersburg hospital, and to analyze the prevalence of the number of components of the metabolic syndrome (MS) in patients with AF and anticoagulant therapy (ACT) assigned to outpatient stage to hospitalization. A retrospective analysis of 1760 case histories of patients hospitalized in the therapeutic and cardiology departments of the Therapy Clinic of the Faculty of Pavlov State Medical University named after IP Pavlov for 2017 was performed. It was established that AF was found in 16.5% (286) patients hospitalized in 2017. Among the causes of AF in patients, the number of components of MS was analyzed: 0 – 2.1% (6), 1 – 4.5% (13), 2 – 19.2% (55), 3 – 34.3% (98), 4 – 31.5% (90), 5 – 8.4% (24), thus MS with 3 or more components installed in 74.1% (212) surveyed in 2017. 58.7% (168) received ACT at the time of hospitalization, and 41.3% did not receive it (118). In 32,9% of patients with AF did not receive anticoagulant therapy at the prehospital stage, with no contraindications for administration. Among patients receiving ACT at the time of hospitalization, direct oral anticoagulants were prescribed 2 times more often than warfarin (69% and 31%, р = 0,01)

Atrial fibrillation and CHA2DS2VASc score of 1 - is there a problem in clinical practice?

Aim. To study the incidence of nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with a CHA2DS2VASc score of 1 in actual clinical practice, to determine the major and minor risk factors of thromboembolism and the frequency of oral anticoagulant therapy in these patients.Material and methods. We performed a retrospective analysis of 6575 medical records of patients hospitalized for five years in a therapeutic inpatient unit. To determine the stroke risk, major and minor modifying factors were assessed.Results. Of 1160 patients with nonvalvular AF, 93 (8,0%) patients had a CHA2DS2VASc score of 1: hypertension (87,1%), heart failure (4,3%), vascular diseases (4,3%), diabetes (2,15%) and age 65-74 years (2,2%); minor modifying factors were as follows: left atrial (LA) dilatation (81,7%), obesity (40,9%), persistent/permanent AF (37,6%), proteinuria (26,9%), chronic kidney disease (3,2%). A combination of minor risk factors was observed in 61,3%, the most common of which were obesity, LA dilatation, persistent/permanent AF. Anticoagulants were prescribed to 72% of patients with a CHA2DS2VASc score of 1.Conclusion. In actual clinical practice, patients with nonvalvular AF with a CHA2DS2VASc score of 1 are often found. The most common risk factors for stroke in these patients are hypertension, persistent or permanent AF, LA dilatation, and obesity. The use of anticoagulant therapy in these patients does not contradict current guidelines. However, further prospective follow-up is necessary to determine the effectiveness and safety of this therapy