AFIB and Oral Anticoagulant Use With Perioperative Outcomes After Major Noncardiac Surgery

Association of Atrial Fibrillation and Oral Anticoagulant Use With Perioperative Outcomes After Major Noncardiac Surgery | Journal of the American Heart Association: "Increasingly, AF is being recognized as a major risk factor for adverse perioperative outcomes after major noncardiac surgery. In an earlier study, van Diepen et al10 reported that patients with AF had a 69% increased risk of death when compared with patients with stable coronary artery disease. ... McAlister et al6 reported a higher risk of cardiovascular death, heart failure, and myocardial injury among 961 patients with AF postoperatively in the VISION (Vascular Events in Noncardiac Surgery Patients Cohort Evaluation) registry. Our study adds to the growing knowledge base on the adverse prognostic impact of patients with AF who undergo noncardiac surgery. Further work, however, is needed to better delineate the mechanisms accounting for worse perioperative outcomes in the AF population."