Novel anticoagulants given to 60% of newly diagnosed AF patients

It is not surprising that the novel oral anticoagulants appear to be supplanting warfarin as first-line therapy for nonvalvular AF. The newer drugs are much easier to use because they don’t require frequent monitoring of clotting parameters, require no dietary restrictions, and have simple and straightforward dosing.

I expect the use of these novel anticoagulants – and others soon to be approved – to increase over time, particularly once they become generic and cost gradually becomes less of an issue.

Dr. Joseph S. Alpert is professor of medicine at the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Medicine. Dr. Alpert made these remarks in an editorial (Amer. J. Med. 2014 Aug. 8 [doi: 10.1016/amjmed.2014.07.028]) accompanying Dr. Desai’s report. He reported cochairing the data monitoring committees for two of the large clinical trials that led to FDA approval of rivaroxaban.