Objective. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of the use of oral anticoagulation (OAC) medication, recommended by national guidelines for stroke prevention but reportedly underused in AF patients with moderate to high stroke risk. Method. A multicentre and cross-sectional study of undiagnosed AF among out-of-hospital patients over 60 years old was carried out, visiting 3,638 patients at primary health centres or at home for AF diagnosis using the IDC-10 classification. The main outcome measures were CHA2DS2VASC, HAS-BLED scores, cardiovascular comorbidity, pharmacological information, TTR, and SAMe-TT2R2 scores. Results. The main findings were undiagnosed AF in 26.44% of cases; 31.04% registered with AF but not using OAC despite 95.6% having a CHA2DS2VASC ≥ 2 score; a risk of bleeding in important subgroups using OAC without indication (37.50% CHA2DS2VASC < 2 score); the use of OAC with TTR < 60% (33.1%), of whom 47.6% had a HAS-BLED score ≥3. Thus, 35.4% of the expected AF prevalence achieved an optimal time in the therapeutic range. Conclusions. The expected AF prevalence was 10.9% (n 5267), but the registered prevalence was 7.5% (n 3638). Only 35.04% (CI = 95%, 33.7–36.3) of AF patients treated with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) achieve the goal of TTR > 60%.
New reperfusion therapies have improved the clinical recovery rates of acute ischemic stroke patients (AISP), but it is not known whether other factors, such as the ability to cope, might also have an effect. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of endovascular treatment (EVT) on coping strategies, quality of life, and neurological and functional outcomes in AISP at 3 months and 1 year post-stroke. A multicenter, prospective, longitudinal, and comparative study of a sub-study of the participants in the Endovascular Revascularization with Solitaire Device versus Best Medical Therapy in Anterior Circulation Stroke within 8 Hours (REVASCAT) clinical trial was conducted after recruiting from two stroke centers in Catalonia, Spain. The cohort consisted of 82 ischemic stroke patients (n = 42 undergoing EVT and n = 40 undergoing standard best medical treatment (BMT) as a control group), enrolled between 2013–2015. We assessed the coping strategies using the Brief Coping Questionnaire (Brief-COPE-28), the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) with the EQ-5D questionnaire, and the neurological and functional status using the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Barthel Index (BI), modified Rankin Scale (mRS), and Stroke Impact Scale-16 (SIS-16). Bivariate analyses and multivariate linear regression models were used. EVT patients were the ones that showed better neurological and functional outcomes, and more patients presented reporting no pain/discomfort at 3 months; paradoxically, problem-focused coping strategies were found to be significantly higher in patients treated with BMT at 1 year.
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