Circulation Journal
Online ISSN : 1347-4820
Print ISSN : 1346-9843
ISSN-L : 1346-9843

This article has now been updated. Please use the final version.

Use of Warfarin in Elderly Patients With Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation – Subanalysis of the J-RHYTHM Registry –
Eitaro KodaniHirotsugu AtarashiHiroshi InoueKen OkumuraTakeshi YamashitaHideki Origasaon behalf of the J-RHYTHM Registry Investigators
Author information
JOURNAL FREE ACCESS FULL-TEXT HTML Advance online publication
Supplementary material

Article ID: CJ-15-0621

Details
Abstract

Background:To clarify the effects of warfarin therapy in very old patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF), a post-hoc analysis was performed using the data of the J-RHYTHM Registry.Methods and Results:A consecutive series of AF outpatients was enrolled from 158 institutions. Of 7,937 patients, 7,406 with NVAF (men, 70.8%; 69.8±10.0 years) were followed for 2 years or until an event occurred. Patients were divided into 3 age groups (<70, 70–84, and ≥85 years) and 5 subgroups according to international normalized ratio (INR; <1.6, 1.6–1.99, 2.0–2.59, 2.6–2.99, and ≥3.0). Prevalence of female sex, permanent AF, hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and history of ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack was higher in the older groups. In the oldest group, 79.7% of patients received warfarin and their time in therapeutic range, using the Japanese target INR of 1.6–2.6, was 67.1%. Rate of thromboembolic events was lower in the age groups <70 and 70–84 years (P=0.027 and P<0.001, respectively) for patients receiving warfarin compared with those who were not. In the oldest group, the rate of thromboembolism plus major hemorrhage was lower at INR 1.6–2.59.Conclusions:Warfarin could have beneficial effects even in very old NVAF patients if INR is kept between 1.6 and 2.59.

Content from these authors
© 2015 THE JAPANESE CIRCULATION SOCIETY
feedback
Top