Treatment and Outcomes of Atrial Fibrillation and Acute Coronary Syndrome in Sweden

Treatment and Outcomes Among Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Acute Coronary Syndrome in Sweden

Many people who suffer from irregular heartbeats (atrial fibrillation) which might cause stroke, need to take blood thinners to prevent it. However, people with atrial fibrillation are also at increased risk of acute myocardial infarction or unstable angina pectoris (another heart condition marked by a chest pain, comprising so-called acute coronary syndrome for which another type of treatment that prevents blood from clotting (antiplatelet treatment) is indicated. In particularly if such patients undergo percutaneous coronary intervention, a procedure aimed to open up diseased blood vessels and hence to treat acute coronary syndrome, this treatment is needed. If a patients takes several anti-clotting blood drugs, the risk of bleeding is high. The number of possible drug combinations and treatment durations is large. This study will help us to understand which anti-clotting drug combinations are prescribed in real life among patients with atrial fibrillation and acute coronary syndrome, how effective and safe they are for patients. The study will look into the data that are already available in several very large Swedish databases which contain information needed for the research.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of ACS defined by a hospital discharge (ICD-10 code of I21 for myocardial infarction or I20.0 for unstable angina pectoris (with or without sub-codes) during the study period and a diagnosis of AF (ICD-10 code I48 with or without sub-codes) in the Patient Register before or on the same day as the patient was discharged for ACS.

Exclusion Criteria:

- No exclusions will be made as the registries capture the entire life-time of entire population of Sweden.