Stroke Risk-Stratification Scores Have Limited Prognostic Value in Elders with AF

Several stroke risk-stratification scores are available to determine which patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) will benefit from long-term warfarin anticoagulation. However, these scores were based on populations in which elders — the group most likely to have AF — were underrepresented. In this study, U.K. investigators compared the predictive power of eight stroke risk-stratification scores (CHADS₂ original, CHADS₂ revised, Framingham, NICE, ACC/AHA/ESC, ACCP, CHA₂DS₂-VASchttp://general-medicine.jwatch.org/articles/JO2011030301.jpg, and Rietbrock modified CHADS₂) among 665 participants (age, ≥75; mean age, 81; 55% men) with AF who did not take warfarin throughout or for part of the Birmingham Atrial Fibrillation Treatment of the Aged (…