Bridging Therapy With Heparin Before Starting Rivaroxaban in Ischemic Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack With Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation

• Published in: Circulation Journal Vol. 86; no. 6; pp. 958 - 963
• Main Authors: Tokunaga, Keisuke, Yasaka, Masahiro, Toyoda, Kazunori, Mori, Etsuro, Hirano, Teruyuki, Hamasaki, Toshimitsu, Yamagami, Hiroshi, Nagao, Takehiko, Yoshimura, Shinichi, Uchiyama, Shinichiro, Minematsu, Kazuo, on behalf of the RELAXED Study Investigators
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan The Japanese Circulation Society 25-05-2022
• Subjects: Anticoagulants; Anticoagulants - adverse effects; Atrial fibrillation; Atrial Fibrillation - complications; Atrial Fibrillation - drug therapy; Hemorrhage - chemically induced; Heparin; Heparin - adverse effects; Humans; Ischemic Attack, Transient - drug therapy; Ischemic Stroke; Prospective Studies; Risk Factors; Rivaroxaban - adverse effects; Stroke - chemically induced; Stroke - prevention & control; Treatment Outcome; Anticoagulants; Heparin; Ischemic stroke; Atrial fibrillation
• ISSN: 1346-9843; 1347-4820; 1347-4820
• DOI: 10.1253/circj.CJ-21-0617

Background: The present observational study aimed to clarify the association between bridging therapy with heparin before starting rivaroxaban and clinical outcomes after ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF).Methods and Results: Patients with NVAF who experienced acute ischemic stroke or TIA of the middle cerebral artery territory and started rivaroxaban within 30 days after onset were enrolled and were followed up for 90 days. Outcome measures were ischemic events, major bleeding, their composite, and death or disability 90 days after onset. Ischemic events were defined as ischemic stroke, TIA, and systemic embolism. Of 1,308 analyzed patients, 638 received bridging therapy with unfractionated or low-molecular-weight heparin with a median of 10,000 IU/day. Associations between bridging therapy and ischemic events or major bleeding were not statistically significant individually, but the association between bridging therapy and their composite was statistically significant (multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio, 1.80; 95% confidence interval, 1.01–3.29). The association between bridging therapy and death or disability 90 days after onset was not statistically significant.Conclusions: The composite of ischemic events and major bleeding was more frequent in patients with NVAF who received bridging therapy with low-dose heparin than in those who started treatment directly with rivaroxaban after ischemic stroke or TIA.