Long-Term Dabigatran in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation

Dabigatran's track record in preventing stroke extends to observational follow-up of more than 4 years.

In the manufacturer-funded randomized trial known as RE-LY, dabigatran was shown to be noninferior to warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) at a median follow-up of 2 years (JW Card Sep 1 2009). The annual rate of stroke or systemic embolism in that trial was 1.53% with 110-mg dabigatran, 1.11% with 150-mg dabigatran, and 1.69% with warfarin. Now, in the RELY-ABLE follow-up study, involving 5851 patients with AF who had completed RE-LY and had not permanently discontinued the study medication (almost half of those originally randomized), researchers extended the analysis of the dabigatran recipients for an additional 2.3 years.

After the additional follow-up, the annual rate of stroke or systemic embolism was similar between the…

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)

Long-Term Dabigatran in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation

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Reviewing Author