title: Antithrombotic treatment in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation.
abstract: Atrial fibrillation (AF) in the elderly is a complex condition due to the high number of frequently associated comorbidities, such as cardiovascular and kidney disease, cognitive disorders, falls and polypharmacy. Except when contraindicated, anticoagulation is necessary for preventing thromboembolic events in this population. Both vitamin K antagonists and direct oral anticoagulants (dabigatran, rivaroxaban and apixaban) are indicated in this context. Renal function should be closely monitored for this age group when these drugs are used. In recent years, various clinical practice guidelines have been published on patients with AF. The majority of these guidelines make specific recommendations on the clinical characteristics and treatment of elderly patients. In this update, we review the specific comments on the recommendations concerning antithrombotic treatment in elderly patients with nonvalvular AF.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Grupo de Riesgo Vascular de la SEMI, Madrid, España. Electronic address: csuarezf@salud.madrid.org.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Suárez Fernández
authors.affiliation: Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, Grupo de Riesgo Vascular de la SEMI, Barcelona, España.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Camafort
authors.affiliation: Hospital Vega Baja de Orihuela, Grupo de Riesgo Vascular de la SEMI, Orihuela, Alicante, España.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cepeda Rodrigo
authors.affiliation: Hospital Royo Villanova, Grupo de Riesgo Vascular de la SEMI, Zaragoza, España.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Díez-Manglano
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Grupo de Riesgo Vascular de la SEMI, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, España.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Formiga
authors.affiliation: Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago, Grupo de Riesgo Vascular de la SEMI, Santiago de Compostela, España.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pose Reino
authors.affiliation: Hospital Virgen del Camino, Grupo de Riesgo Vascular de la SEMI, Pamplona, España.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tiberio
authors.affiliation: Hospital Carlos III, Grupo de Riesgo Vascular de la SEMI, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Mostaza
keywords: Anciano; Antagonistas de la vitamina K; Apixaban; Dabigatran; Edoxaban; Elderly; Fibrilación auricular no valvular; Guidelines; Guías; Nonvalvular atrial fibrillation; Rivaroxaban; Vitamin K antagonists