Atrial Fibrillation

The issues around stroke prevention in AF were established with the publication of the SPAF1 study in the early nineties. However despite two iterations of the national guidelines from NICE in 2006 and again in 2014, there remains a significant issue in the implementation of the basic premise; that anticoagulation will significantly reduce AF related stroke in those at risk and the patient should be central to that decision making process.
Using the NICE AF Quality Standards published in 2015 as the template Dr Fay will outline some of the key issues and obstacles encountered around the issues of stroke prevention with a glance at AF case finding and the use of Direct Oral Anticoagulants in real world practice.