Pick Pickens

This travel article from the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism highlights Pickens and some of the attractions there including the Butterfly, the Pickens County Museum of Art and History, the Hagood-Mauldin House, Irma Morris Museum of Fine Arts, the Pickens Azalea Festival and Friday Night Football

The birthplace of American civilization

This travel article from the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism highlights Port Royal, its history and the things that make it unique today

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase 1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age  6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score  652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N = 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in Asia and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

Cruising the coast

This travel article from the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism describes the attractions on Highway 17 along the SC coast

Frankie's and fun

This travel article from the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism describes Frankie's Fun Park. Each Frankie’s location is equipped with everything from go-karts and bumper boats to their signature miniature golf courses. Also included in the complexes are expansive arcades, amusement rides and even laser tag, available at the Greenville and Columbia locations

A plethora of petals

This travel article from the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism provides a description of Summerville, SC and Azalea Park in Summerville as well as the Flowertown Festival, Taste of Summerville and Sculpture in the South

Rock Hills' big backyard

This travel article from the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism highlights Glencairn Garden in Rock Hill. Glencairn Garden began in 1928 by David and Hazel Bigger. Set in the midst of a residential neighborhood on the corner of Charlotte Avenue and Crest Street, this English-style garden currently boasts six acres of lush land, lily ponds, a tiered fountain, reflection pool, Japanese footbridge and extensive walking trails that connect the park to downtown Rock Hill

More Charleston for less

This travel article from the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism highlights the shopping and eating opportunities in Charleston

Splish splash! : we're having a blast

This travel article from the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism highlights the numerous waterparks in South Carolina. Described are North Charleston’s Wannamaker County Park & Whirlin’ Waters Waterpark, Palmetto Islands County Park & Splash Island Waterpark in Mt. Pleasant, James Island County Park & Splash Zone Waterpark and Discovery Island at Simpsonville County Park

Dining high in the Lowcountry

This travel article from the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism describes some of the upscale restaurants in Charleston