warfarin and Ventricular-Dysfunction

Although combination therapy for various cardiac conditions with dual antiplatelet therapy (aspirin and thienopyridine derivatives) and warfarin sodium has become increasingly popular, the safety and effectiveness of this aggressive treatment regimen remain unknown.. We retrospectively enrolled and analyzed 575 consecutive patients who had been implanted with drug-eluting coronary stents. The primary and secondary endpoints were major bleeding complications and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), respectively. At the time of discharge, 525 patients (91.3%) were prescribed with dual antiplatelet therapy, and 50 (8.7%) of them received dual antiplatelet plus anticoagulant therapy (triple therapy). The patients treated with triple therapy had a greater prevalence of comorbid conditions, including left ventricular systolic dysfunction and multi-vessel coronary disease compared to those on the dual antiplatelet regimen. During a median follow-up of 459 days, 14 (2.7%) patients receiving dual, and 9 (18.0%) receiving triple therapy reached the primary endpoint (p<0.001). These results show that warfarin use was associated with an increased risk of subsequent major bleeding. On the other hand, the incidence of MACE did not differ between the two groups (p=0.108 by the log-rank test). Multivariate analysis showed that renal impairment was an independent predictor of the risk of subsequent major bleeding in the triple therapy group.. Triple therapy increased the hemorrhagic complications in patients after percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents, especially in patients with impaired renal function. Great caution should be taken with patients who necessitate the addition of anticoagulation therapy with warfarin to dual antiplatelet therapy.

Topics: Aged; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary; Anticoagulants; Aspirin; Cardiovascular Diseases; Coronary Disease; Drug-Eluting Stents; Female; Hemorrhage; Humans; Kidney Diseases; Male; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; Prognosis; Pyridines; Retrospective Studies; Ventricular Dysfunction; Warfarin

It is not known whether quality of care for congestive heart failure (CHF) at rural hospitals is similar to that in larger, urban hospitals.. We reviewed hospital charts for 310 Medicare patients hospitalized with CHF at six hospitals in rural Georgia.. Of the 310 patients, 101 (33%) had left ventricular systolic dysfunction, and 60 (19%) had preserved systolic function. Information on left ventricular function was not available for 48% (range, 29% to 87% across the six hospitals). Among patients with systolic dysfunction, 77% were prescribed an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor at discharge, and 73% were prescribed digoxin. However, the mean daily ACE inhibitor dose was only 48% of the recommended target dose. Only 30% of all patients with atrial fibrillation were prescribed warfarin.. Overall quality of care for CHF at rural hospitals appears similar to that in other settings, though many patients may not receive evaluation of ventricular function.

Topics: Aged; Algorithms; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; Anticoagulants; Cardiotonic Agents; Digoxin; Drug Utilization; Female; Georgia; Heart Failure; Hospitals, Rural; Humans; Male; Medical Records; Medicare; Quality of Health Care; Retrospective Studies; United States; Ventricular Dysfunction; Warfarin