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Updated: May 21, 2026

The WATCHMAN Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device for Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: February 28, 2012
[Clinical management of the new anticoagulants]
G Zapata Wainberg1, A Ximénez-Carrillo Rico, J Vivancos Mora
1Servicio de Neurología, Hospital Universitario de la Princesa, Madrid, Spain.
Abstract:
The vitamin K antagonists (VKA) available for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation have many drawbacks due to their difficult clinical use and high risk of bleeding. Currently, several drugs are being developed as possible substitutes for VKA that have many advantages such as the lack of monitoring requirement and scarce pharmacologic and food interactions. The present article provides an update on the new oral anticoagulants that are in a more advanced stage of clinical research, their pharmacologic properties, advantages and disadvantages and their results in recent clinical trials.
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