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Previous Volume 360:2601-2603 June 18, 2009 Number 25 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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More than 3 million Americans have atrial fibrillation, which increases their risk of stroke by a factor of 5.^1,2 Patients with atrial fibrillation account for one of every six strokes, and thromboemboli originating from the left atrial appendage are the suspected culprit in the vast majority of these cases.^1,2 Warfarin, a vitamin K antagonist, is the most commonly prescribed treatment for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation; yet despite warfarin's proven benefit, its effective delivery is challenged by a narrow therapeutic window and an increased risk of bleeding. Efforts have been made to develop alternative treatment strategies — including . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Source Information

Dr. Maisel is the director of the Medical Device Safety Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston.

This article (10.1056/NEJMp0903763) was published on May 27, 2009, at NEJM.org.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Whitlock, R. P., Healey, J. S., Connolly, S. J. (2009). Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion Does Not Eliminate the Need for Warfarin. Circulation 120: 1927-1932 [Full Text]