Antithrombotic Therapy for Patients with Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Review

Patients with atrial fibrillation who have risk factors for thromboembolism benefit from chronic oral anticoagulation therapy, and antiplatelet therapy alone is of relatively little benefit for prevention of ischemic stroke and systemic embolism. Patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents require dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and a thienopyridine for 3 to 12 months or more prevention of stent thrombosis and recurrent ischemic events. When patients with atrial fibrillation undergo percutaneous coronary intervention, the need to combine dual antiplatelet therapy and warfarin raises the risk of major bleeding complications considerably. Recent trials have explored the option of omitting aspirin with promising results. The introduction of novel oral anticoagulants that specifically inhibit factor IIa (dabigatran) or factor Xa (rivaroxaban, apixaban, and edoxaban) and antiplatelet agents that inhibit the P2Y12 receptor (prasugrel and ticagrelor) makes management of these patients even more challenging, but future trials addressing myriad alternative regimens may identify better tolerated strategies.