Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation: A Scientific Statement of JACC: Asia (Part 2)

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with substantial increases in the risk for stroke and systemic thromboembolism. With the successful introduction of the first non-vitamin K antagonistdirect oral anticoagulant agent (NOAC) in 2009, the role of vitamin K antagonists has been replaced in most clinical settings except in a few conditions for which NOACs are contraindicated. Data for the use of NOACs in different clinical scenarios have been accumulating in the past decade, and a more sophisticated strategy for patients with AF is now warranted. JACC: Asia recently appointed a working group to summarize the most updated information regarding stroke prevention in AF. The aim of this statement is to provide possible treatment options in daily practice. Local availability, cost, and patient comorbidities should also be considered. Final decisions may still need to be individualized and based on clinicians' discretion. This is part 2 of the statement.

Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation: A Scientific Statement of JACC: Asia (Part 1)

Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with substantial increases in the risk of stroke and systemic thromboembolism. With the successful introduction of the first non-vitamin K antagonist direct oral anticoagulant (NOAC) in 2009, the role of vitamin K antagonists has been replaced in most clinical settings except in a few conditions when NOACs are contraindicated. Data for the use of NOACs in different clinical scenarios have been accumulating in the recent decade, and a more sophisticated strategy for atrial fibrillation patients is now warranted. JACC: Asia recently appointed a working group to summarize the most updated information regarding stroke prevention in AF. This statement aimed to provide possible treatment option in daily practice. Local availability, cost, and patient comorbidities should also be considered. Final decisions may still need to be individualized and based on clinicians' discretion. This is the part 1 of the whole statement.

XANTUS-EL: A real-world, prospective, observational study of patients treated with rivaroxaban for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation in Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America

Background

The prospective, observational XANTUS study demonstrated low rates of stroke and major bleeding in real-world rivaroxaban-treated patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) from Western Europe, Canada and Israel. XANTUS-EL is a component of the overall XANTUS programme and enrolled patients with NVAF treated with rivaroxaban from Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EEMEA) and Latin America.

Methods

Patients with NVAF starting rivaroxaban for stroke prevention were consecutively recruited and followed for 1 year, at approximately 3-month intervals, or for ≥30 days after permanent rivaroxaban discontinuation. Primary outcomes were major bleeding, adverse events (AEs), serious AEs and all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes included stroke, non-central nervous system systemic embolism (non-CNS SE), transient ischaemic attack (TIA), myocardial infarction (MI) and non-major bleeding. All major outcomes were centrally adjudicated.

Results

Overall, 2064 patients were enrolled; mean age ± standard deviation was 67.1 ± 11.32 years; 49.3% were male. Co-morbidities included heart failure (30.9%), hypertension (84.2%), diabetes mellitus (26.5%), prior stroke/non-CNS SE/TIA (16.2%) and prior MI (10.7%). Mean CHADS₂, CHA₂DS₂-VASc and HAS-BLED scores were 2.0, 3.6 and 1.6, respectively. Treatment-emergent event rates were (events/100 patient-years, [95% confidence interval]): major bleeding 0.9 (0.5–1.4); all-cause mortality 1.7 (1.2–2.4); stroke/non-CNS SE 0.7 (0.4–1.2); any AE 18.1 (16.2–20.1) and any serious AE 8.3 (7.0–9.7). One-year treatment persistence was 81.9%.

Conclusions

XANTUS-EL confirmed low stroke and major bleeding rates in patients with NVAF from EEMEA and Latin America. The population was younger but with more heart failure and hypertension than XANTUS; stroke/SE rate was similar but major bleeding lower.