Individualising Anticoagulant Therapy in Atrial Fibrillation Patients

Non-vitamin K antagonist (VKA) oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have emerged as alternatives to VKAs for the prevention of stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. Four NOACS: dabigatran, apixaban, rivaroxaban and edoxaban, have received regulatory approval in Europe from the European Medicines Agency. Numerous factors can influence the decision to prescribe a NOAC, the most important of which are assessment of stroke and bleeding risks. Given the variation in design of the pivotal phase III clinical trials investigating the efficacy and safety of NOACs, and in the absence of head-to-head comparative data, it is impossible to recommend one NOAC over the other. However, NOACS offer the opportunity for individualised therapy based on factors such as renal function, age or patient/doctor preference for once- or twice-daily dosing regimens. Dose reduction of some NOACS should be considered in at-risk patient populations.