Mitigating Stroke Risk Across the Continuum of Care: The Role of Targeted Oral Anticoagulants in Atrial Fibrillation

 

Release Date: August 11, 2014

Last Reviewed: July 24, 2014

Expiration Date: August 11, 2015

 

This activity is sponsored by Global Education Group.  Paradigm Medical Communications, LLC is the educational partner.Faculty

Professor

Department of Emergency Medicine

Perelman School of Medicine

University of Pennsylvania

Chairman

Department of Emergency Medicine

Pennsylvania Hospital

Philadelphia, PA

 

Director of Pharmacy, Business

Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Boston, MA

 

Bernard Trabin Chair in Cardiology

Professor, Department of Medicine

Chief, Division of Cardiology

Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Penn State College of Medicine

Penn State Hershey Heart and Vascular Institute

Hershey, PA

 

This activity has been designed to address the educational needs of clinicians specializing in cardiology, neurology, emergency medicine, internal medicine, family medicine, hospital medicine, and allied health professionals who manage patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk for stroke.

 

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a growing health concern with a prevalence that is expected to increase over the next several decades. An important potential complication of AF is stroke and systemic embolism, which tend to cause greater morbidity and mortality than stroke not related to AF. Therefore, it is important that patients with AF who are at risk of having a stroke receive preventive treatment, which is best achieved by anticoagulation. Warfarin has been the oral anticoagulant (OAC) of choice for over 50 years; however, 3 target-specific OACs have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration over the past 5 years and more are in the pipeline, providing much-needed options in anticoagulation. Despite the importance of stroke prevention in this at-risk population and the introduction of new agents, anticoagulation remains underused. In addition, although the target-specific OACs may have benefits over warfarin, many clinicians are not familiar with the subtle differences among the various agents and how to determine which agent is best for an individual patient. Healthcare providers who manage patients with AF who are at risk for stroke need a multidisciplinary overview of stroke prevention in AF, including an overview of how to identify patients who are at risk for stroke and should receive anticoagulation, evaluating the data that indicate the best use of the target-specific OACs, and safety considerations to ensure the most optimal, evidence-based application of these agents.

 

Upon proper completion of this activity, participants should be better able to:

·Delineate strategies to determine whether patients with AF are appropriate candidates for anticoagulation.

·Apply current evidence from clinical trials, evidence-based guidelines, and product information to select an appropriate anticoagulant for patients with AF.

·Describe evidence-based strategies for monitoring patients taking target-specific OACs.

·Explain approaches that can ensure safe and effective use of anticoagulation therapy across the continuum of care.

 

Global Education Group is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

 

Global Education Group designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

For information about the accreditation of this program, please contact Global at (303) 395-1782 or inquire@globaleducationgroup.com.
 

This activity is supported by educational grants from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.

 

To receive a CME certificate of participation, participants must:

For questions regarding CME credit, contact the Paradigm CME Department at (845) 398-5949.

 

There is no fee required for participation in this activity.

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