NSAID Use Is Associated with Elevated Risk for Bleeding in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Receiving Antithrombotic Therapy

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use is associated with excess bleeding risk in patients who are receiving anticoagulant medications, but researchers have not examined this issue specifically in patients with atrial fibrillation. In this observational cohort study, investigators in Denmark used national registries to evaluate the association between NSAID use and serious bleeding (e.g., intracranial bleeding, gastrointestinal bleeding) and thromboembolism (i.e., stroke or systemic arterial embolism) in >150,000 patients (median age, 75) with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation who were receiving antithrombotic therapy.

During median follow-up of 6.2 years, 36% of patients were prescribed NSAIDs; about 17,000 serious bleeds and 19,000 …