Anticoagulation for elderly patients with atrial fibrillation: not to be neglected

Abstract
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major health risk in the developed world and has a prevalence of around 5% in those aged under 65, rising to around 10% in the over 80 population. 1 , 2 It is estimated that 1% of the UK National Health Service expenditure is on AF, and therefore it poses a significant public and economic health burden. 3 Importantly, AF is associated with significant morbidity and mortality—in particular, it is a well-established, independent risk factor for stroke and estimates place this risk to be around 1.5% in the under 60 age group, rising to 23.5% in the over 80s. 4

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