Aspirin's effectiveness for those with atrial fibrillation is now questioned, says Nice in new guidance, which also notes the raised bleeding risk. Aspirin Instead of Oral Anticoagulant Prescription in Atrial Fibrillation Patients at Risk for Stroke. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major cause of ischemic stroke, especially in the elderly. For patients who have nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, many guidelines recommend aspirin as thromboprophylaxis among those who are not considered to be high risk. Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia that increases the risk of stroke. More than one-in-three atrial fibrillation (AFib) patients with an intermediate-to-high-risk of stroke are prescribed aspirin instead of oral anticoagulants, despite guidelines recommending the use of anticoagulants for this population, according to a study published June 20 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Decision-Making Tool for Treating Patients with Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation. Figure 1. The ACTIVE-W was a randomised clinical trial in patients with a history of atrial fibrillation along with one or more risk factors for stroke. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major cause of stroke and thromboembolism, resulting in substantial morbidity and mortality. Objective To compare the risk of vascular and bleeding events in patients with nonvalvular AF treated with vitamin K –inhibiting oral anticoagulants or acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin).. Design Pooled analysis of patient-level data from 6 published, randomized clinical trials. A. Context Patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF) have an increased risk of stroke and other vascular events.. For the majority of patients with AF, aspirin has a limited role in stroke prevention, being an inferior strategy and not necessarily safer than the anticoagulant warfarin, especially in the elderly. Roughly 50 million Americans take daily low-dose aspirin for cardioprevention, as it is generally perceived as a safe, effective, and inexpensive OTC preventive medication for cardiovascular disease. In the study, researchers from Southampton University in the United Kingdom and Maastricht University in the Netherlands examined prescription history and health records and heart problems in 30,000 patients with atrial fibrillation, a condition that leads to an irregular and often rapid heart rate. Atrial fibrillation is a common cardiac arrhythmia that increases the risk of stroke by a factor of five. A. Atrial fibrillation is a major cause of ischemic stroke, but is aspirin a major help for stroke prevention or not? Aspirin was thought to be safer. Decision-making tool for choosing between warfarin (Coumadin) and aspirin therapy in … They received oral anticoagulants along with either clopidogrel (75 mg/day) or aspirin (75-100 mg/day) in order to have a target INR of 2.0-3.0.