Cardio Round-up: Bleeding Risk Up with Unindicated Aspirin Plus Anticoagulants; and More

Patients taking direct oral anticoagulation therapy for atrial fibrillation as well as aspirin that they may not be indicated for experienced higher rates of bleeding than those on monotherapy, a new study suggests. According to the results, 1,107 patients taking aspirin with direct antiplatelet therapy did not have a clear indication for aspirin. In the propensity score-matched cohorts (each with 1,047 patients), the authors reported that those taking both therapies experienced more bleeding events compared with direct oral anticoagulant monotherapy, and specifically nonmajor bleeding.

A mobile-based electrocardiogram (ECG) screening was accurately able to detect atrial fibrillation (AFib) in a patient population of American Indians, new study results indicate. The authors included 1,019 American Indians in the study. All patients received care at a tribal primary care clinic. Study participants underwent 30-second, single-lead ECG, and the mobile device paired with a smartphone or tablet device at the clinic. According to the results, AFib was detected in 15 (1.5%) of patients in the mobile-based ECG group, compared with four participants or 1,267 (0.3%) in the non-intervention group.

A recent study reported differences in the risk of new-onset dementia by gender and age among statin users with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study authors retrospectively reviewed Taiwanese Bureau of National Health Insurance claims data from January 2003 to December 2016. The primary outcome was risk of dementia. A total of 264,036 eligible adults with RA were identified. Using propensity-score matching, statin users and non-statin users were matched 1:1, with 25,764 patients in each group. Statin use was not correlated with the risk of new-onset dementia

Acute ischemic stroke is infrequent in patients with COVID-19 and usually occurs in the presence of other cardiovascular risk factors, according to a study published in Stroke. The researchers report that 103 of 8,163 patients with confirmed COVID-19 (1.3%) developed acute ischemic stroke versus 1.0% of patients without COVID-19 (199 of 19,513). The proportion of COVID-19 patients with hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, atrial fibrillation, and congestive heart failure was significantly higher among those with acute ischemic stroke than in those without stroke.