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Evidence summaries

Stroke Risk in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure

In patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillarion, the annual risk of stroke appears to be more than 10%. Level of evidence: "B"

The reported annual risk of stroke in controlled heart failure studies is between 1 and 2% and the risk of myocardial infarction from 2 to 5.4%, respectively. The annual risk of stroke in Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation study was 10.3% in atrial fibrillation patients with definite heart failure and 17.7% with recent congestive heart failure 1. Yet, the corresponding risk of stroke analysed from pooled data from 5 randomized controlled atrial fibrillation trials was less than in the SPAF I analysis; 6.8% in the placebo group and 1.6% in the warfarin group 2.

    References

    • SPAF I, Ann Intern Med 1992, 116;1-5.
    • Risk factors for stroke and efficacy of antithrombotic therapy in atrial fibrillation. Analysis of pooled data from five randomized controlled trials. Arch Intern Med 1994 Jul 11;154(13):1449-57. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords