Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 30, 2026

Catheter Ablation in Combination With Left Atrial Appendage Closure for Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: February 26, 2013
Alarming lack of knowledge about antithrombotic therapy among patients with atrial fibrillation
Julia Miguel Leitão1, Fernanda Maria Dutra Spagnuolo Moreira1, Ingrid Eyng Thiel1
1Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba PR, Brasil.
Objective:
Large population campaigns have been conducted in Brazil to improve knowledge about the signs and symptoms of stroke and the importance of time to care. Parallel to these important actions, we aimed to evaluate the lay knowledge of patients with atrial fibrillation, a well-recognized etiology of stroke, adequate treatment and management of which can prevent up to 30% of cerebrovascular events.
Methods:
We questioned 143 patients with atrial fibrillation about the risks associated with the disease.
Results:
Ninety-one percent were on anticoagulation treatment. Of the total, 63.6% reported having been informed about the risks and benefits of anticoagulants but only 46.9% were able to correctly mention one of these risks. Ischemic stroke was identified as a risk by only 25.9% and hemorrhagic stroke was not mentioned. A CHADS2 ≥ 2 was scored by 84.0% of the patients.
Conclusions:
Our study showed an alarming knowledge gap in patients with atrial fibrillation. Difficulty in adherence to treatment resulting from the failure of this communication is possibly one of the factors responsible for the high incidence and recurrence of stroke, and should not go unnoticed.
Related Concept Videos
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining,...
Amyloid Fibrils
Fibril-associated Collagen
For example, the type II collagen fibrils in cartilage have covalently bound type IX fibril-associated collagens at regular intervals. Other types of fibril-associated collagens are...
Gene Therapy
Group Therapy
Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...

