Suboptimal oral anticoagulant treatment among Chinese non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients: the Nanchang Atrial Fibrillation Project

When used as thromboprophylaxis in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), oral anticoagulant (OAC) therapy is effective for preventing stroke and thromboembolism (by 64%) and all-cause mortality (by 26%) Thus, current guidelines recommend OAC in AF patients with 1 additional stroke risk factors according to the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score. Nevertheless, underuse of OAC is common, but there are limited data on clinical features associated with the non-use of OAC in Asian countries. This is despite the significant burden of AF in Asian countries, which is increasing and numerically larger than that in Western countries