Patients’ knowledge and perspectives on vitamin K antagonists for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation: implications for treatment quality

Contemporary management of atrial fibrillation (AF) focuses on effective thromboprophylaxis with either direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) or vitamin K antagonists (VKAs; e.g., warfarin/ acenocoumarol). Although DOACs offer a viable alternative, the majority of patients continue to receive VKAs. The quality of VKA therapy is determined by the proportion of time spent in the target range (TTR) of the international normalized ratio (INR, 2.0– 3.0). The greatest benefit with VKAs is derived with TTR of ≥70% (1), whereas a low TTR predisposes to adverse outcomes (2)