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A significant proportion of patients who suffer from atrial fibrillation (AF) and are in need of thromboembolic protection are not treated with oral anticoagulation or discontinue this treatment shortly after its initiation. This undertreatment has not improved sufficiently despite the availability of direct oral anticoagulants which are associated with less major bleeding than vitamin K antagonists. Multiple reasons account for this, including bleeding events or ischaemic strokes whilst on anticoagulation, a serious risk of bleeding events, poor treatment compliance despite best educational attempts, or aversion to drug therapy. An alternative interventional therapy, which is not associated with long-term bleeding and is as effective as vitamin K anticoagulation, was introduced over 20 years ago. Because of significant improvements in procedural safety over the years, left atrial appendage closure, predominantly achieved using a catheter-based, device implantation approach, is increasingly favoured for the prevention of thromboembolic events in patients who cannot achieve effective anticoagulation. This management strategy is well known to the interventional cardiologist/electrophysiologist but is not more widely appreciated within cardiology or internal medicine. This article introduces the devices and briefly explains the implantation technique. The indications and device follow-up are more comprehensively described. Almost all physicians who care for adult patients will have many with AF. This practical guide, written within guideline/guidance boundaries, is aimed at those non-implanting physicians who may need to refer patients for consideration of this new therapy, which is becoming increasingly popular., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: C.B.: none declared. R.B.: personal fees from Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, LEO-Pharma, Pfizer, VIATRIS, and research support by the Bavarian State Ministry of Health; CPC University of Colorado; FADOI, Italy. S.Be.: proctor and speaker fees from Boston Scientific, Edwards, Abbott, fees go to the department. S.Bi.: none declared. L.V.A.B.: consultant for Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Adagio, and ACUTUS, fees go to the department. G.B.: speaker fees from Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Boston Scientific, Daiichi-Sankyo, Janssen, and Sanofi. S.Bo.: Consultant for Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Microport, and Zoll. A.J.C.: personal fees from Abbott, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Pfizer/BMS, Daiichi Sankyo, Bayer and Sanofi. T.D.P.: no personal disclosures to report. Consultancy activity for Boston Scientific, invoiced through institutional research fund. W.D.: consulting and speaker fees from Ai Mediq, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Vifor Pharma; travel support from Pharmacosmos; research support from EU (Horizon2020), German Ministry of Education and Research, German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Vifor Pharma. S.G.: consulting and speaker fees from Boston Scientific. M.G.: Advisory Board Member for Boston Scientific; proctor for Boston Scientific, Abbott; fees for lectures and travel grants: from Boston Scientific, Abbott, Occlutech, Pfizer. K.G.H.: speaker’s honoraria, consulting fees, lecture honoraria and/or study grants from Abbott, Amarin; Alexion, AstraZeneca, Bayer Healthcare, Biotronik, Boehringer Ingelheim, Boston Scientific, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Daiichi-Sankyo, Edwards Lifesciences, Medtronic, Novartis, Pfizer, Portola, Premier Research, Sanofi, SUN Pharma, and W.L. Gore and Associates. J.E.N.-K.: consultant to Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Edwards Lifesciences, Picardia, Venus Medtech, speaker for Abbott. U.L.: research grant to institution from Abbott, Bayer, speaker or consulting honorary from Abbott, Boston Scientific, Bayer; Pfizer, Daiichi-Sankyo. G.Y.H.L.: consultant and speaker for BMS/Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi-Sankyo, Anthos. No fees are received personally. National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator and co-principal investigator of the AFFIRMO project on multi-morbidity in AF, funded from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 899871. J.E.N.-K.: research grants from Abbott, Boston Scientific, Novo Nordic Foundation. J.E.N.-K.: research grants from Abbott, Boston Scientific, Novo Nordic Foundation. E.M.: research grants from Abbott, Biotronik, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, MicroPort, and Zoll. Consultant and speaker fees from Abbott, Abbott, Medtronic, and Zoll. J.E.N.-K.: research grants from Abbott, Boston Scientific, Novo Nordic Foundation. P.O.: speaking honoraria from Bayer, Abbott, Boston Scientific. T.P.: none declared. B.S.: consultant and speaker for Bostin Scientific, Abbott, Medtronic, Biosense Webster. M.S.: none declared. R.B.S. has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant agreement no. 648131, from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant agreement no. 847770 (AFFECT-EU) and German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK e.V.) (81Z1710103 and 81Z0710114); German Ministry of Research and Education (BMBF 01ZX1408A) and ERACoSysMed3 (031L0239); Wolfgang Seefried project funding German Heart Foundation; lecture fees and advisory board fees from BMS/Pfizer and Novartis outside this work. C.T.: advisory board member of Boston Scientific; proctor for Boston Scientific and Abbott; fees for lectures and travel grants from Boston Scientific and Abbott. A portion of the fees goes to the institute. A.T.: consultant and proctor for Abbott, consultant for Boston Scientific and Pie Medical., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

The prescription appropriateness of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs [dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban, and edoxaban]) is carefully regulated, taking into account the criteria established in phase III trials and listed in the summary of the product characteristics of the four DOACs. In clinical practice, prescriptions are not always in compliance with established indications. In particular, the use of doses lower than those recommended in drug data sheets is relatively frequent. Literature data show that the inappropriate prescription of DOAC doses causes drug underexposure and an up to three-fold increase in the risk of stroke/transient ischemic attack, systemic thromboembolism, and hospitalizations. Possible causes of the deviation between the dose that should be prescribed and that actually employed may include erroneous prescriptions, an overstated bleeding risk perception, and the presence of frail patients, who were not included in pivotal trials. For these reasons, we summarize DOAC indications and contraindications and suggest the appropriate use of DOACs in common clinical scenarios, in accordance with what international guidelines and national and international health regulatory agencies recommend.

Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: The authors have provided declaration of interest information for all relationships that might be perceived as real or potential sources of conflicts of interest. The full disclosures can be viewed in the supplementary material for this article, available online at https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/euac144.

Whilst there is a clear clinical benefit of oral anticoagulation (OAC) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and venous thromboembolism (VTE) in reducing the risks of thromboembolism, major bleeding events (especially intracranial bleeds) may still occur and be devastating. The decision to initiate and continue anticoagulation is often based on a careful assessment of both the thromboembolism and bleeding risk. The more common and validated bleeding risk factors have been used to formulate bleeding risk stratification scores, but thromboembolism and bleeding risk factors often overlap. Also, many factors that increase bleeding risk are transient and modifiable, such as variable international normalized ratio values, surgical procedures, vascular procedures, or drug-drug and food-drug interactions. Bleeding risk is also not a static 'one off' assessment based on baseline factors but is dynamic, being influenced by ageing, incident comorbidities, and drug therapies. In this Consensus Document, we comprehensively review the published evidence and propose a consensus on bleeding risk assessments in patients with AF and VTE, with the view to summarizing 'best practice' when approaching antithrombotic therapy in these patients. We address the epidemiology and size of the problem of bleeding risk in AF and VTE, review established bleeding risk factors, and summarize definitions of bleeding. Patient values and preferences, balancing the risk of bleeding against thromboembolism are reviewed, and the prognostic implications of bleeding are discussed. We propose consensus statements that may help to define evidence gaps and assist in everyday clinical practice., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: A.R.: speaker for Bayer, Daiichi-Sankyo, and Boehringer-Ingelheim. D.A.G.: grants from Bayer, Medtronic. Speaker for Bayer, Boehringer-Ingelheim, and AstraZeneca. D.L.: grants from BMS and Boehringer-Ingelheim; consultant and speaker for BMS, Boehringer-Ingelheim, and Bayer. F.M.: consultant and speaker for AstraZeneca and Boehringer-Ingelheim; grants from Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Daiichi-Sankyo. G.V.: speaker for AstraZeneca. G.Y.H.L.: consultant and speaker for BMS/Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Daiichi-Sankyo. No fees are received personally. H.F.T.: grants from Abbott, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Cooks Medical, Boehringer Ingelheim, Boston Scientific, Daichi Sankyo, Medtronic, Novartis, Pfizer, and Sanofi. J.L.F.: Speaker for AstraZeneca, Ferrer, Pfizer, Abbott Medical, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi Sankyo, BMS, and Royi. K.H.: speaker for AstraZeneca, Bayer, and Boehringer-Ingelheim. L.F.: consultant and speaker activities for AstraZeneca, Bayer, BMS/Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Medtronic, Novartis, Novo, and XO. The other authors have no conflict of interest to declare., (Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author(s) 2022. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

While there is a clear clinical benefit of oral anticoagulation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and venous thromboembolism (VTE) in reducing the risks of thromboembolism, major bleeding events (especially intracranial bleeds) may still occur and be devastating. The decision for initiating and continuing anticoagulation is often based on a careful assessment of both thromboembolism and bleeding risk. The more common and validated bleeding risk factors have been used to formulate bleeding risk stratification scores, but thromboembolism and bleeding risk factors often overlap. Also, many factors that increase bleeding risk are transient and modifiable, such as variable international normalized ratio values, surgical procedures, vascular procedures, or drug-drug and food-drug interactions. Bleeding risk is also not a static "one-off" assessment based on baseline factors but is dynamic, being influenced by aging, incident comorbidities, and drug therapies. In this executive summary of a European and Asia-Pacific Expert Consensus Paper, we comprehensively review the published evidence and propose a consensus on bleeding risk assessments in patients with AF and VTE, with a view to summarizing "best practice" when approaching antithrombotic therapy in these patients. We address the epidemiology and size of the problem of bleeding risk in AF and VTE, and review established bleeding risk factors and summarize definitions of bleeding. Patient values and preferences, balancing the risk of bleeding against thromboembolism, are reviewed, and the prognostic implications of bleeding are discussed. We propose consensus statements that may help to define evidence gaps and assist in everyday clinical practice., Competing Interests: None declared., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Health care delivery shifted and adapted with the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Stroke care was negatively affected across the care continuum and may lead to poor community living outcomes in those who survived a stroke during the ongoing pandemic. For instance, delays in seeking care, changes in length of stays, and shifts in discharge patterns were observed during the pandemic. Those seeking care were younger and had more severe neurologic effects from stroke. Increased strain was placed on caregivers and public health efforts, and community-wide lockdowns, albeit necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19, had detrimental effects on treatment and recommendations to support community living outcomes. The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Stroke Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group Health and Wellness Task Force convened to (1) discuss international experiences in stroke care and rehabilitation and (2) review recently published literature on stroke care and outcomes during the pandemic. Based on the findings in the literature, the task force proposes recommendations and interdisciplinary approaches at the (1) institutional and societal level; (2) health care delivery level; and (3) individual and interpersonal level spanning across the care continuum and into the community., (Copyright © 2022 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality and disability in developed countries. According to WHO, an estimated 17.9 million people died from CVDs in 2019, representing 32% of all global deaths. Of these deaths, 85% were due to major adverse cardiac and cerebral events. Early detection and care for individuals at high risk could save lives, alleviate suffering, and diminish economic burden associated with these diseases. Carotid artery disease is not only a well-established risk factor for ischemic stroke, contributing to 10%-20% of strokes or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), but it is also a surrogate marker of generalized atherosclerosis and a predictor of cardiovascular events. In addition to diligent history, physical examination, and laboratory detection of metabolic abnormalities leading to vascular changes, imaging of carotid arteries adds very important information in assessing stroke and overall cardiovascular risk. Spanning from carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) measurements in arteriopathy to plaque burden, morphology and biology in more advanced disease, imaging of carotid arteries could help not only in stroke prevention but also in ameliorating cardiovascular events in other territories (e.g. in the coronary arteries). While ultrasound is the most widely available and affordable imaging methods, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), their combination and other more sophisticated methods have introduced novel concepts in detection of carotid plaque characteristics and risk assessment of stroke and other cardiovascular events. However, in addition to robust progress in usage of these methods, all of them have limitations which should be taken into account. The main purpose of this consensus document is to discuss pros but also cons in clinical, epidemiological and research use of all these techniques., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The management of patients with stroke is often multidisciplinary, involving various specialties and healthcare professionals. Given the common shared risk factors for stroke and cardiovascular disease, input may also be required from the cardiovascular teams, as well as patient caregivers and next-of-kin. Ultimately, the patient is central to all this, requiring a coordinated and uniform approach to the priorities of post-stroke management, which can be consistently implemented by different multidisciplinary healthcare professionals, as part of the patient 'journey' or 'patient pathway,' supported by appropriate education and tele-medicine approaches. All these aspects would ultimately aid delivery of care and improve patient (and caregiver) engagement and empowerment. Given the need to address the multidisciplinary approach to holistic or integrated care of patients with heart disease and stroke, the European Society of Cardiology Council on Stroke convened a Task Force, with the remit to propose a consensus on Integrated care management for optimizing the management of stroke and associated heart disease. The present position paper summarizes the available evidence and proposes consensus statements that may help to define evidence gaps and simple practical approaches to assist in everyday clinical practice. A post-stroke ABC pathway is proposed, as a more holistic approach to integrated stroke care, would include three pillars of management: A: Appropriate Antithrombotic therapy.B: Better functional and psychological status.C: Cardiovascular risk factors and Comorbidity optimization (including lifestyle changes)., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Background: Irrespective of the great impact stroke exerts on the society as a whole and far-reaching advances in acute treatment and rehabilitation of stroke, so far outpatient services for post-stroke care have not been established on a national level in Germany., Objective and Methods: Against the background of this contemporary lack of care, in May 2020 the German Stroke Society (DSG) established the stroke aftercare commission. This position paper discusses structural models of future services addressing outpatient post-stroke care., Results and Discussion: The specialized care by a neurologist should be central to a multidisciplinary, interprofessional and transsectoral treatment. Structural concepts of post-stroke care must take regional differences but also effective strategies for quality control into account. Certification processes and appropriate financing of follow-up registries at state and federal levels may pave the way for improvement over the medium term. Structured outpatient post-stroke care services should be open to all subgroups of stroke patients. Additionally, innovative technologies can make an important contribution to post-stroke care; however, the implementation of specialized services demands adequate funding as well as separate financial incentives for the providers. The solution must carefully balance the advantages and disadvantages of the specific care and financing models. Currently the discussion of new models of post-stroke care is gaining new momentum, which opens up perspectives for the advancement of the otherwise still insufficient contemporary care structures., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Long-term management after stroke has not been standardized in contrast to acute and rehabilitative stroke care. The fragmented outpatient sector of healthcare allows a high degree of flexibility but also variability in the quality of care provided. The commission on long-term stroke care of the German Stroke Society developed a concept on how to provide standardized multiprofessional long-term stroke care with a focus on patient-centered comprehensive care. We propose a diagnostic work-up in stages, with an initial patient-reported screening, followed by an adapted in-depth assessment of affected domains. This includes internistic domains (management of risk factors) and also genuine neurological domains (spasticity, cognitive deficits etc.) that must be considered. This information is then merged with patient expectations and prioritization to a standardized treatment plan. Special challenges for the implementation of such a comprehensive care system are the intersectoral and intrasectoral communication between healthcare providers, patients and relatives, the need to create a compensation system for providers and the establishment of appropriate quality management services. Digital health applications are helpful tools to provide aspects of diagnostics, treatment and communication in long-term stroke care., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

The acute treatment of stroke patients in Germany is of a very high standard, guaranteed by its system of stroke units. Stroke as a disease has an acute phase followed by a chronic phase that requires a high level of qualified aftercare given by multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary teams. In 2020, the German Stroke Society (DSG) founded a commission for long-term stroke care. The aim is to evaluate the current situation of long-term aftercare and suggest improvements for its structure. In this paper the status quo of aftercare is presented and possible deficits are identified. Contributions of various stakeholders from the German healthcare system are analyzed and different projects for post-acute care are presented. Germany has no acknowledged structured aftercare concepts for patients after stroke. The general practitioner-based care is currently the focus of patient management but without a greater, more coordinated integration of neurologists, guideline-led and quality-controlled aftercare will be harder to implement in the future. The assignment of duties and the necessary training standards for the specialist groups in order to comply with the guidelines do not exist. Besides medical health, the needs of physical, social and emotional domains are too seldom considered by a multiprofessional care team. Further developments of a regional care management concept are discussed. The results and costs of any aftercare concepts must be evaluated before widespread implementation., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia worldwide. Thromboembolism from the left atrial appendage (LAA) is the most feared complication in patients with AF. The cornerstone for the management of AF is oral anticoagulation to reduce the incidence of cardioembolic stroke. There is, however, a significant proportion of patients who cannot undergo long-term oral anticoagulation. Transcatheter LAA occlusion is an evolving technology with proven benefits in terms of AF-related stroke prevention, representing a valid alternative to anticoagulation for high-risk patients with contraindications for long-term oral anticoagulation. This has resulted in the development of a plethora of transcatheter devices to achieve endocardial occlusion or epicardial exclusion of the LAA.A panel of expert Italian cardiologists gathered under the aegis of the Italian Society of Interventional Cardiology (SICI-GISE) with the aim of reviewing the most relevant aspects of LAA occlusion, underlying anatomy and pathophysiology, summarizing current clinical knowledge, and discussing the practicalities of available devices and imaging techniques. Finally, the position paper highlights the importance of an adequate environment and of an appropriate organization in order to optimize all steps of the procedure.

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) are mostly prescribed to prevent cardioembolic stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF). An increasing number of guidelines recommend DOAC in AF patients with preserved renal function for the prevention of thromboembolism and an increased use of DOAC in daily practice is recorded also in elderly patients. Aging is associated with a reduction of glomerular filtration rate and impaired renal function, regardless of the cause, increases the risk of bleeding. Multiple medication use (polypharmacy) for treating superimposed co-morbidities is common in both elderly and chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients and drug-drug interaction may cause accumulation of DOAC, thereby increasing the risk of bleeding. There is uncertainty on the safety profile of DOAC in patients with CKD, particularly in those with severely impaired renal function or end stage renal disease, due to the heterogeneity of studies and the relative paucity of data. This document reports the position of three Italian scientific societies engaged in the management of patients with atrial fibrillation who are treated with DOAC and present with CKD.

This ESC Council on Stroke/EAPCI/EBNI position paper summarizes recommendations for training of cardiologists in endovascular treatment of acute ischaemic stroke. Interventional cardiologists adequately trained to perform endovascular stroke interventions could complement stroke teams to provide the 24/7 on call duty and thus to increase timely access of stroke patients to endovascular treatment. The training requirements for interventional cardiologists to perform endovascular therapy are described in details and should be based on two main principles: (i) patient safety cannot be compromised, (ii) proper training of interventional cardiologists should be under supervision of and guaranteed by a qualified neurointerventionist and within the setting of a stroke team. Interdisciplinary cooperation based on common standards and professional consensus is the key to the quality improvement in stroke treatment., (Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author(s) 2020. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

This study assessed the progression of stroke using bibliometric methods. By March 31, 2024, highly cited papers on stroke were collected from the Web of Science Core Collection. Collaboration and keyword conjunction analyses, along with their visual representations, were conducted using VOSviewer. CiteSpace was employed to identify keywords and reference sources. A comprehensive review of 2,509 highly cited studies on stroke was conducted. Notably, the United States, China, and the United Kingdom have emerged as leading contributors to this research domain, with the New England Journal of Medicine having the highest number of publications. YUSUF S had the highest H-index among all authors. The key terms frequently encountered were “stroke,” “atrial fibrillation,” and “cardiovascular disease.” This study performed a detailed bibliometric review of stroke research over the past decade, shedding light on the participation of various countries, organizations, authors, journals, and articles in the field. These insights offer a broad snapshot of the global stroke research trends.

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) are mostly prescribed to prevent cardioembolic stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF). An increasing number of guidelines recommend DOAC in AF patients with preserved renal function for the prevention of thromboembolism, and an increased use of DOAC in daily practice has been recorded also in elderly patients. Ageing is associated with a reduction in glomerular filtration rate, and impaired renal function, regardless of the cause, increases the risk of bleeding. Multiple medication use (polypharmacy) for treating superimposed co-morbidities is common in both elderly and chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients and drug-drug interaction may cause accumulation of DOAC, thereby increasing the risk of bleeding. The safety profile of DOAC in patients with CKD has not been defined with any certainty, particularly in those with severely impaired renal function or end stage renal disease. This has been due to the heterogeneity of studies and the relative paucity of data. This document reports the position of three Italian scientific societies engaged in the management of patients with atrial fibrillation who are treated with DOAC and present with CKD.

Neglect after stroke is most accurately diagnosed by a systematic, ecological observation during everyday behaviour using the Catherine Bergego Scale (CBS). However, the CBS is time-consuming and often omitted in clinical settings, especially stroke units. In this study, we aimed to explore if video-oculography during free visual exploration (FVE), which can be performed in few minutes, is sensitive in mirroring neglect in everyday behaviour and whether it is more sensitive than conventional neuropsychological paper-pencil tests. In this retrospective, observational, multicentre study, we identified 78 patients in our database with subacute right-hemispheric stroke, with and without neglect in everyday behaviour, diagnosed by the CBS, who also performed FVE. 40 age-matched healthy participants served as controls. The sensitivity to detect neglect was compared between FVE (i.e., mean gaze position on the horizontal axis) and conventional neuropsychological paper-pencil tests, i.e., Random Shape Cancellation, Line Bisection, Two-Part Picture, Bells, Star Cancellation, Letter Cancellation, Sensitive Neglect, and Five-Point. FVE correctly identified neglect in 85%of patients, with an AUC-value of .922 in ROC-analysis. Conventional neuropsychological paper-pencil tests, considered alone or in combination, showed heterogeneous results, and identified neglect significantly less often (21.74%-68.75%). Moreover, there was a significant correlation between mean gaze position and CBS scores, providing evidence for the relationship between FVE and neglect in everyday behaviour. Furthermore, VLSM analyses suggested that the absence of a pathological rightward bias in FVE might depend on the integrity of the second branch of the right Superior Longitudinal Fascicle (SLF II), a white-matter tract connecting cortical areas critical for visual attention. Video-oculography during FVE has a high sensitivity and specificity to diagnose neglect after stroke and it is more sensitive than conventional neuropsychological paper-pencil tests. It can be performed in short time and has the potential to be used as a fast and accurate screening tool that allows the initiation of comprehensive neuropsychological diagnostics and therapy from early on., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None declared., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common in the elderly. The treatment of this condition is based on anticoagulation in preventing Stroke and systemic arterial embolism. Vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) have long been the only anticoagulants available for the management of AF. Difficulties handling VKAs have made them one of the main causes of iatrogenic disease in the elderly. In the last 10 years, direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have emerged and large randomized trials (RE-LY, ROCKET-AF, ARISTOTLE, ENGAGE-AF) have demonstrated their superiority over VKAs in the management of AF. These trials were conducted with large numbers of patients (n=71,683), including 27,500 aged ≥75 years and nearly 8,000 subjects aged >80 years. Results from 11 recent meta-analyses of randomized trials and observational real-world studies of 660,896 elderly patient indicate that DOACs are more effective than VKA-based prophylaxis in preventing stroke (risk reduction ranging from 13% to 26%) and carry a lower risk of cerebral hemorrhage (risk reduction 50%). The risk of major hemorrhage appears to be similar to or lower with DOACs than with VKAs (depending on the dosage, renal function, hemorrhagic site or type of DOACs). Moreover, a greater benefit of DOACs over VKA therapy has been found in subgroup analyses in subjects aged over 75 years, in patients with renal insufficiency (creatinine clearance 30-50 mL/min) and in those with a history of falls. Analyses indicate that DOACs are a better choice than VKAs in the elderly because elderly patients are those with the highest risk of stroke and cerebral hemorrhages. In summary, DOACs have a better efficacy/tolerance profile than VKAs, which justifies their first-line use in subjects over 75 years of age.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common in the elderly. The treatment of this condition is based on anticoagulation to prevent stroke and systemic arterial embolism. Vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) have long been the only anticoagulants available for the management of AF. Administration is complex and is one of the main causes of iatrogenic disease in the elderly. In the past 10 years, direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have emerged, and large randomised trials (RE-LY, ROCKET-AF, ARISTOTLE, ENGAGE-AF) have demonstrated their superiority over VKAs in the management of AF. These trials were conducted on large numbers of patients (n=71,683), including 27,500 patients aged ≥75 years and nearly 8,000 subjects aged >80 years. Results from 11 recent meta-analyses of randomised trials and observational real-world studies of 660,896 elderly patients indicate that DOACs are more effective than VKA-based prophylaxis in preventing stroke (with a reduction in risk ranging from 13% to 26%), and carry a lower risk of cerebral haemorrhaging (50% reduction in risk). The risk of major haemorrhaging appears to be similar to, or lower than that with DOACs relative to VKAs (depending on the dosage, renal function, haemorrhagic site or type of DOAC). Moreover, improved outcomes with DOACs over VKA therapy have been demonstrated based on subgroup analyses in subjects aged over 75, in patients with renal insufficiency (creatinine clearance: 30-50 mL/min) and in those with a history of falls. Analyses indicate that DOACs are a better choice than VKAs in the elderly because elderly patients are at greatest risk of stroke and cerebral haemorrhaging. In summary, DOACs have a better efficacy/tolerance profile than VKAs, which justifies their first-line use in subjects over 75 years of age.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of administrating an electronic and paper-based food insecurity screener among patients presenting to a stroke clinic during the study period. We aimed to ensure a consecutive sample for our retrospective analysis and evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of food insecurity in this population. Materials and methods: We conducted a retrospective review of patients with an initial telemedicine or in-person appointment to a stroke outpatient clinic between February 1 and July 31, 2021. Prior to their initial visit, patients were sent an electronic questionnaire to screen for food insecurity using the 2-item Hunger Vital Sign™ and to collect socio-demographic characteristics. Patients who were evaluated in-person were given a paper questionnaire if the electronic version was not completed upon clinic appointment. We collected data on patient demographics, screener completion rates, and the prevalence of food insecurity. The feasibility was evaluated by comparing the amount of missing data between electronic and paper-based screeners. Results: Among 406 adult stroke survivors, 365 (89.9 %) completed the food insecurity screener, with 234 (64.1 %) completing it electronically and 131 (35.9 %) by paper. Overall, 14.3 % of the stroke patients experienced food insecurity. A higher prevalence of food insecurity was observed among patients who completed paper-based compared to electronic questionnaires (21.4 % vs 10.2 %, p = 0.004). Hispanic patients were more likely to complete paper-based questionnaires (32.1 %) compared to electronic questionnaires (18.0 %, p = 0.011). Patients with a 12th grade education or less were more likely to complete paper-based (49.5 %) vs. electronic questionnaires (36.4 %, p = 0.029). Feasibility was evaluated by comparing the amount of missing data between the screener delivery modalities. A higher percentage of socio-demographic characteristics was missing in the paper-based questionnaires compared to electronic questionnaires (105.3 % vs. 14.11 %). Conclusions: Sample characteristics differ based on the mode of questionnaire delivery, suggesting that different screening modalities may be necessary to identify patients at the highest risk for food insecurity. Our study provides detailed insights into the feasibility of using electronic and paper-based screeners in a clinical setting, highlighting the importance of considering delivery methods in food insecurity assessments. It is important to note that the Spanish language electronic survey was only available during the last two months of the study, which may affect the findings regarding Hispanic patients' preference for paper surveys.

Effective nutrition policies require timely, accurate individual dietary consumption data; collection of such information has been hampered by cost and complexity of dietary surveys and lag in producing results. The objective of this work was to assess accuracy and cost-effectiveness of a streamlined, tablet-based dietary data collection platform for 24-hour individual dietary recalls (24HR) administered using INDDEX24 platform v. a pen-and-paper interview(PAPI) questionnaire, with weighed food record (WFR) as a benchmark. This cross-sectional comparative study included women 18-49 years old from rural Burkina Faso (n 116 INDDEX24; n 115 PAPI). A WFR was conducted; the following day, a 24HR was administered by different interviewers. Food consumption data were converted into nutrient intakes. Validity of 24HR estimates of nutrient and food group consumption was based on comparison with WFR using equivalence tests (group level) and percentages of participants within ranges of percentage error (individual level). Both modalities performed comparably estimating consumption of macro- and micronutrients, food groups and quantities (modalities' divergence from WFR not significantly different). Accuracy of both modalities was acceptable (equivalence to WFR significant at P < 0·05) at group level for macronutrients, less so for micronutrients and individual-level consumption (percentage within ±20 % for WFR, 17-45 % for macronutrients, 5-17 % for micronutrients). INDDEX24 was more cost-effective than PAPI based on superior accuracy of a composite nutrient intake measure (but not gram amount or item count) due to lower time and personnel costs. INDDEX24 for 24HR dietary surveys linked to dietary reference data shows comparable accuracy to PAPI at lower cost.

Cardiac thromboembolism attributed to atrial fibrillation (AF) is responsible for up to one-third of ischemic strokes. Stroke may be the first manifestation of previously undetected AF. Given the efficacy of oral anticoagulants in preventing AF-related ischemic strokes, strategies of searching for AF after a stroke using ECG monitoring followed by oral anticoagulation (OAC) treatment have been proposed to prevent recurrent cardioembolic strokes. This white paper by experts from the AF-SCREEN International Collaboration summarizes existing evidence and knowledge gaps on searching for AF after a stroke by using ECG monitoring. New AF can be detected by routine plus intensive ECG monitoring in approximately one-quarter of patients with ischemic stroke. It may be causal, a bystander, or neurogenically induced by the stroke. AF after a stroke is a risk factor for thromboembolism and a strong marker for atrial myopathy. After acute ischemic stroke, patients should undergo 72 hours of electrocardiographic monitoring to detect AF. The diagnosis requires an ECG of sufficient quality for confirmation by a health professional with ECG rhythm expertise. AF detection rate is a function of monitoring duration and quality of analysis, AF episode definition, interval from stroke to monitoring commencement, and patient characteristics including old age, certain ECG alterations, and stroke type. Markers of atrial myopathy (eg, imaging, atrial ectopy, natriuretic peptides) may increase AF yield from monitoring and could be used to guide patient selection for more intensive/prolonged poststroke ECG monitoring. Atrial myopathy without detected AF is not currently sufficient to initiate OAC. The concept of embolic stroke of unknown source is not proven to identify patients who have had a stroke benefitting from empiric OAC treatment. However, some embolic stroke of unknown source subgroups (eg, advanced age, atrial enlargement) might benefit more from non-vitamin K-dependent OAC therapy than aspirin. Fulfilling embolic stroke of unknown source criteria is an indication neither for empiric non-vitamin K-dependent OAC treatment nor for withholding prolonged ECG monitoring for AF. Clinically diagnosed AF after a stroke or a transient ischemic attack is associated with significantly increased risk of recurrent stroke or systemic embolism, in particular, with additional stroke risk factors, and requires OAC rather than antiplatelet therapy. The minimum subclinical AF duration required on ECG monitoring poststroke/transient ischemic attack to recommend OAC therapy is debated.