Anticoagulation Control in Older Atrial Fibrillation Patients Receiving Vitamin K Antagonist Therapy for Stroke Prevention

Table 1

Baseline characteristics of the study population overall and by age group (≥80 vs. <80 years).

	Total, N = 991	Age ≥80 years, N = 205	Age <80 years, N = 786	value
Mean (SD) age	71.6 (9.4)	—	—	—
Female	443 (44.7)	120 (58.5)	323 (41.1)	<0.001
Male	548 (55.3)	85 (41.5)	463 (58.9)
Ethnicity
White	807 (81.4)	176 (85.9)	631 (80.3)	0.016
South-Asian	102 (10.3)	10 (4.9)	92 (11.7)
Afro-Caribbean	82 (8.3)	19 (9.3)	63 (8.0)
Medical history
Heart failure	138 (13.9)	31 (15.1)	107 (13.6)	0.66
Hypertension	785 (79.2)	176 (85.9)	609 (77.5)	0.011
Diabetes mellitus	204 (20.6)	38 (18.5)	166 (21.1)	0.47
Stroke/TIA	179 (18.1)	40 (19.5)	139 (17.7)	0.61
VTE	38 (3.8)	7 (3.4)	31 (3.9)	0.88
PAD	26 (2.6)	8 (3.9)	18 (2.3)	0.30
Vascular disease^†	163 (16.4)	37 (18.0)	126 (16.0)	0.56
Lung disease^‡	196 (19.8)	34 (16.6)	162 (20.6)	0.23
Cardiomyopathy^§	30 (3.0)	4 (2.0)	26 (3.3)	0.77
Chronic kidney disease^††	370 (37.3)	103 (50.2)	267 (34.0)	0.12
Anaemia	145 (14.6)	34 (16.6)	111 (14.1)	<0.001
Smoker/ex-smoker (N = 717)	326 (45.5)	49 (33.8)	277 (48.4)	<0.001
Type of AF
Paroxysmal	274 (27.6)	48 (23.4)	226 (28.8)	0.004
Persistent	229 (23.1)	47 (22.9)	182 (23.2)
Permanent	488 (49.2)	110 (53.7)	378 (48.1)
Medication
ACEI/ARB	561 (56.6)	115 (56.1)	446 (56.7)	0.43
Beta-blocker	455 (45.9)	87 (42.4)	368 (46.8)	0.10
CCB	350 (35.3)	82 (40.0)	268 (34.1)	<0.001
Digoxin	226 (22.8)	43 (21.0)	183 (23.3)	0.15
Diuretics	439 (44.3)	120 (58.8)	319 (40.6)	0.07
Amiodarone	58 (5.9)	7 (3.4)	51 (6.5)	0.25
Concurrent antiplatelet	46 (4.6)	10 (4.9)	36 (4.6)	0.53
Mean (SD) CHA2DS2-VASc score	3.4 (1.6)	4.4 (1.3)	3.1 (1.6)	<0.001
Mean (SD) HAS-BLED score	1.5 (0.9)	1.8 (0.8)	1.5 (0.9)	<0.001
Mean SAMe-TT2R2 score	2.3 (1.4)	2.2 (1.2)	2.4 (1.4)	0.04

ACEI/ARB: angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blockade; CCB: calcium channel blocker; CHA₂DS₂-VASc score: Congestive heart failure/left ventricular dysfunction, Hypertension, Age ≥75 years (2 points), Diabetes, Stroke (2 points), Vascular disease, Age 65–74 years, and Sex category (female). Total scores range between 0–9; low-risk CHA₂DS₂-VASc score: 0, intermediate: 1, high-risk CHA₂DS₂-VASc score: ≥2; TIA: transient ischemic attack; TE: thromboembolism; HAS-BLED score: uncontrolled Hypertension: systolic ≥160 mmHg, Abnormal renal/liver function, Stroke, Bleeding history or predisposition, Labile INR ratio/TTR <60, Drugs/alcohol concomitantly. Total scores range between 0–9; low risk of bleeding ranges between 0–2 and high risk of bleeding ≥3; SAMe-TT₂R₂ score: Sex female, Age<60, Medical history (more than two comorbidities), Treatment (interacting drug, e.g., Amiodarone), Tobacco use (doubled), and Race (nonwhite, doubled). Total scores ranged from 0–8; probable good response to VKA therapy range between 0–2; and probable poor response to VKA therapy ranged from ≥3. †Vascular disease: prior myocardial infarction, peripheral artery disease, or aortic plaque; ‡lung disease includes obstructive and restrictive diagnosed lung conditions; §cardiomyopathy: dilated, restrictive, and obstructive myocardial conditions; ††kidney disease: eGFR<60 ml/min.