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(HealthDay News) — For many Canadian patients with atrial fibrillation, primary care physicians do not provide stroke or bleeding risk estimates, according to a study published online October 14 in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.
Paul Angaran, MD, from the University of Toronto, and colleagues collected data on 4,670 atrial fibrillation patients aged 18 years and older without significant valvular heart disease. Participants were chosen from the primary care practices of 474 physicians as part of the Canadian Facilitating Review and Education to Optimize Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation chart audit.
The researchers found that in 15 and 25% of patients, respectively, physicians did not provide an estimate of stroke and bleeding risk. When risks were provided, in only 50 and 26% of patients were they on the basis of a predictive stroke and bleeding risk index, respectively. In a large proportion of patients there was overestimation and underestimation of stroke and bleeding risk. Antithrombotic therapy included warfarin (90%); overall, 24, 9, 11, and 56% of patients had a time of less than 50%, 50–60%, 60–70%, and more than 70% in the therapeutic range, respectively.
“These findings suggest an opportunity to enhance knowledge translation to primary care physicians,” the authors write.
One author was employed by LinCorp Medical.
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