BMJ Publishing Group, Heart, 23(102), p. 1878-1882
DOI: 10.1136/heartjnl-2016-309741
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BACKGROUND: Data on stroke, mortality and associated comorbidities in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in Japan may differ from Western countries. There have been few systematic comparisons between stroke risk profiles and outcomes among community-based elderly (aged ≥75 years) patients with AF in Japan and the UK. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: We compared clinical characteristics, stroke risk and outcomes among elderly patients with AF from the Fushimi AF Registry (Japan; N=1791) and the Darlington AF Registry (UK; N=1338). RESULTS: The Fushimi cohort had a mean age 81.8 (standard deviation (SD) 5.3) years and CHA2DS2-VASc (congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥75 years (double), diabetes mellitus, previous thromboembolism (double), vascular disease, age 65-74 years and female gender) score 4.3 (1.4), whereas the Darlington cohort had a mean age 83.6 (5.7) years and CHA2DS2-VASc score 4.4 (1.4). Over a 12-month follow-up period, observed stroke and mortality rates in Fushimi were 3.4% (n=61) and 11.5% (n=206), while corresponding event rates in the Darlington cohort were 4.4% (n=59) and 14.1% (n=188), respectively. Appropriate use of oral anticoagulation (OAC, essentially a vitamin K antagonist) was