Background: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of monotherapy acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and warfarin for stroke prevention in low-risk atrial fibrillation (AF) by using a population- -based cohort study in Taiwan.
Methods: A newly diagnosed low-risk AF patient cohort were identified by using National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) in Taiwan in 2008. The study cohort was observed with a follow-up of 2 years to examine the onset of ischemic stroke (IS) (to 2010). The longitudinal data were analyzed by using generalized estimation equations (GEE).
Results: A total of 8,065 newly-diagnosed low-risk AF patients were identified in 2008. 7.4% were prescribed with ASA and 4.6% were prescribed with warfarin. The GEE results showed that low-risk AF patients with hypertension who received warfarin were associated with a statistically significant 58.4% reduction of IS risk (OR = 0.416, p = 0.024, 95% CI 0.194-0.891). Additionally, low-risk AF patients with hyperlipidemia who received warfarin were associated with a 69.3% reduction of IS risk (OR = 0.307, p = 0.044, 95% CI 0.097-0.969).
Conclusions: Warfarin is suggested to be prescribed in preventing IS for low-stroke-risk AF patients with hypertension and hyperlipidemia.
Keywords: acetylsalicylic acid; atrial fibrillation; diabetes mellitus; hyperlipidemia; hypertension; ischemic stroke; warfarin.