Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Kidney Disease / 31.12.2013
Atrial Fibrillation: Impact of Kidney Function
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr Amitava Banerjee
NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Cardiovascular Medicine
University of Birmingham UK
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
This was the first long-term study in individuals with atrial fibrillation to consider the impact of renal function, as measured by eGFR, on stroke/thromboembolism, mortality and bleeding in the same population concurrently.
Answer: There were three main findings of our study.
- First, patients with worsening renal function had more severe risk factor profiles and had higher rates of stroke/thromboembolism, mortality and bleeding.
- Second, individuals receiving oral anticoagulation had lower rates of stroke/thromboembolism and mortality than those not receiving anticoagulation at all levels of renal function measured by eGFR, suggesting that anticoagulation has benefit in even patients with low eGFR.
- Third, renal function was not an independent predictor of stroke/thromboembolism at 1 year after adjustment for baseline characteristics. (more…)