"DOACs May Cut Cranial Bleed Risk, Up Survival In Women With AF" - Marlene Busko
Among patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF), women may benefit more than men from therapy with a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) rather than warfarin, according to a large observational study. Women — but not men — with new AF had a lower risk for intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) and better one-year survival if they received a DOAC rather than warfarin. In an audio commentary of the study, Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and cardiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, director of Mount Sinai Heart, and physician in chief at The Mount Sinai Hospital, said, “First, over the last few years we have learned that in patients with atrial fibrillation, the use of the new direct oral anticoagulants are of more benefit than conventional warfarin, and we are just talking about strict endpoints. Second, there appear to be gender differences in how men and women respond to the new oral anticoagulants, but the study published in JACC, in a large population of patients with atrial fibrillation, suggests to me that female patients are even better responders than men with such advanced new agents or oral anticoagulants.”
- Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Professor, Medicine, Cardiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director, Mount Sinai Heart, Physician in Chief, Mount Sinai Hospital