Percutaneous coronary intervention and atrial fibrillation: the triple therapy dilemma

Atrial fibrillation (AF) represents the most common cardiac arrhythmia and chronic oral anticoagulation (OAC) is the cornerstone therapy to prevent cerebrovascular events among those having high thromboembolic risk. However, 20-30% of patients with AF have co-existing coronary artery disease (CAD). Importantly, since the prevalence of both AF and CAD increase with age, management of these patients has become an emerging clinical problem with the ever growing elderly population. In particular, many of these patients may develop an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) or require percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), leading to the concomitant use of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) including aspirin and a P2Y12 receptor inhibitor in addition to OAC, also known as triple antithrombotic therapy (TAT). However, TAT comes at the expense of an increased risk of bleeding complications. This viewpoint focuses on the current evidence of treatment, areas of unmet needs and future perspectives in the management of these high-risk patients.