Background: The J-RHYTHM Registry 2 was a multicenter, prospective observational study that extended the follow-up period of the J-RHYTHM Registry in order to investigate long-term outcomes and effects of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in Japanese patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).
Methods and results: Among 6,616 patients with nonvalvular AF (NVAF) (men 71.0%, 69.7±9.9 years, CHADS2score 1.7±1.2), event rates were compared among patients receiving warfarin (n=3,964), NOACs (n=923), and no anticoagulation therapy (No-OAC, n=753) at the end of follow-up, except for 976 patients lacking anticoagulant data. During the 5-year follow-up period, thromboembolism occurred in 196 (4.9%), 19 (2.1%), and 45 (6.0%) patients, respectively; major hemorrhage in 233 (5.9%), 22 (2.4%), and 36 (4.8%); all-cause death in 230 (5.8%), 13 (1.4%), and 105 (13.9%), (P<0.001 for each). After adjusting for the components of the CHA2DS2-VASc score and antiplatelet drug use, the odds ratio (OR) in the Warfarin group was significantly lower for all-cause death compared with that in the No-OAC group (OR 0.30, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.23-0.39, P<0.001), whereas ORs in the NOACs group were significantly lower for all events (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.24-0.74, P=0.003 for thromboembolism; OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.31-0.93, P=0.027 for major hemorrhage; and OR 0.10, 95% CI 0.06-0.18, P<0.001 for all-cause death, respectively).
Conclusions: NOACs could be beneficial for reducing event rates of all types in Japanese NVAF patients.