Hi, everyone... it's still the Christmas season for me! but news about AF is always on my radar, so here's something I just noticed.
Cardiologist/EP Dr. John Mandrola just published a very interesting Substack article on whether and how the duration of an AF episode affects whether to take an anticoagulant. He quotes from and analyzes some significant studies that would be of interest to many of us. He's also looking at whether there is much stroke risk when you have SCAF--"sub-clinical AF". That's the silent and short kind that gets picked up by medical devices (that only last seconds to a few hours), and from this, it appears the stroke risk is 1% . Makes for some interesting reading and discussion! As always, more studies are needed. (Where have we heard THAT before? )
You will want to read the whole thing (& read very carefully) the specifics at johnmandrola.substack.com. Click on the title as above, "AF Duration? Another big story from 2023." You can also subscribe free to his Substack articles, which I can recommend.
We are always hoping for more randomized clinical trials (RCT's) to give us real-life data about the risks and rewards of various treatments, and I appreciate that this EP/cardiologist is spending time watching, analyzing, and critiquing these AF-related studies as they come out. He seems to be a careful analyst respects the details, and doesn't make unsupported generalizations.
Always grateful for the kindness of this group. Wishing constant NSR and many joys in 2024 to everyone! Cheers, Diane