Antithrombotic Therapy For Atrial Fibrillation

For patients with AF, including those with paroxysmal AF, stroke risk should be assessed using a risk factor based approach, rather than an categorisation into low, moderate/high risk strata. We recommend use of the CHA₂DS₂VASc as a simple clinical based stroke risk score to initially identify ‘low stroke risk’ patients that should not be offered antithrombotic therapy to prevent stroke and reduce mortality. (S-M)