[An overview: new direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC)]

For stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation and other indications new oral anticoagulants have been developed. These drugs are direct anticoagulants in contrast to the indirectly acting vitamin-K antagonists, which are used for decades as the only available drugs. Most clinical experience exists for the thrombin inhibitor dabigatran and the factor X inhibitorrivaroxaban. However, to transfer the benefit from the large scale studies to the real world conditions, physicians have to get clinical experience in using the new drugs. Especially drug interactions, impaired renal function and periinterventional bridging need special attention to ensure transfer of the new drugs benefits to daily life treatment.