Alcohol-related hospitalization associated with doubled stroke risk in atrial fibrillation
"Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common heart rhythm disturbance and is associated with a five-fold increased risk of ischaemic stroke," said Dr Al-Khalili. "AF is also associated with increased mortality, reduced quality of life and a higher risk of heart failure." Treatment with oral anticoagulants reduces the risk of stroke and is recommended according to the number of stroke risk factors. Risk is estimated using the CHA2DS2-VASc score which gives points for clinical risk factors. Patients with non-valvular AF under the age of 65 and a score of 0 in men or 1 in women are considered to be at low risk for ischaemic stroke, and oral anticoagulation therapy is not indicated. Dr Al-Khalili said: "Even if the risk for stroke is low, it is not negligible, and a number of such 'low risk' patients do present with ischaemic stroke in clinical practice and in patient registers." The objective of this study was to assess the incidence and pred...