Warfarin Monotherapy in Atrial Fibrillation Patients With Stable Coronary Disease One Year After Myocardial Infarction/Stent: Two Birds With One Stone?

Abstract

Patients with atrial fibrillation and stable coronary artery disease remain a therapeutic challenge because of the different antithrombotic therapies for the 2 conditions and the increase in bleeding with concomitant antiplatelet and anticoagulant medications. Current guidelines extrapolated data from studies of antithrombotic regimens of each condition separately but there is limited evidence for the optimal regimen in patients with atrial fibrillation and stable coronary artery disease beyond the first year after an acute coronary syndrome or stent implantation. In this review we suggest that warfarin monotherapy is sufficient for this patient population beyond 1 year.