Do Patients' Stroke and Bleeding Risks Affect Apixaban's Advantage over Warfarin?

In an ARISTOTLE subanalysis, apixaban maintained its edge across the range of risk scores in patients with atrial fibrillation, but stronger confirmation is needed.

In the manufacturer-sponsored ARISTOTLE trial, apixaban outperformed warfarin for prevention of stroke or systemic embolism in 18,201 patients with atrial fibrillation (JW Cardiol Aug 29 2011). In a secondary analysis of the ARISTOTLE data, investigators have analyzed whether the results differed according to patients' scores on CHADS₂ (available online), CHA₂DS₂VASc (available online), and HAS-BLED (available online), models commonly used to predict risks for stroke and bleeding.

Compared with warfarin, apixaban was associated with a significant reduction in stroke or systemic embolism that was unaffected by risk for stroke or for bleeding. Rates of major bleeding were lower in apixaban recipients than in warfarin recipients, with no signif…

Reviewing Author

Beat J. Meyer, MD

Disclosures

Leadership positions in professional societiesBern Heart Foundation (President); International Academy of Medicine, Bern, Switzerland (Director)

Beat J. Meyer, MD

Disclosures

Leadership positions in professional societiesBern Heart Foundation (President); International Academy of Medicine, Bern, Switzerland (Director)

Do Patients' Stroke and Bleeding Risks Affect Apixaban's Advantage over Warfarin?

Topics

Reviewing Author