Dabigatran Added to Guidelines on Treating Atrial Fibrillation

Dabigatran Added to Guidelines on Treating Atrial Fibrillation
Monday, February 14, 2011
By: American Heart Association

American Heart Association

The American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association and the Heart Rhythm Society have updated their guidelines on treating atrial fibrillation to include the newly approved oral anticoagulant dabigatran. The update is published online in Circulation.

The decision to put a patient with atrial fibrillation on warfarin or dabigatran should be based upon whether the patient can adhere to twice-daily dosing, patient preference, cost, and whether an anticoagulation management program is available for routine INR monitoring. Dabigatran is not an option for patients with a creatinine clearance less than 15 mL/min or severe hepatic dysfunction.

Based on expert consensus, the authors say that patients taking warfarin who have sufficient INR control might not benefit by switching to dabigatran.