New advances in stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation: ximelagatran and direct thrombin inhibition
(2004) In European Heart Journal Supplements 6(B). p.20-24- Abstract
- Ximelagatran is the first oral agent in a new class of direct thrombin inhibitors and is under investigation for the prevention and treatment of a range of thromboembolic disorders. Atrial. fibrillation (AF) is associated with a markedly increased risk of stroke and, while study results have consistently demonstrated that anticoagulant therapy with warfarin reduces this risk, there are substantial unmet needs in the management of AF-associated thrombotic risk. In particular, warfarin has unpredictable activity leading to the risk of bleeding complications and the need for routine anticoagulant monitoring. Ximelagatran has a range of potential benefits over warfarin in the prevention of AF-associated stroke, including predictable... (More)
- Ximelagatran is the first oral agent in a new class of direct thrombin inhibitors and is under investigation for the prevention and treatment of a range of thromboembolic disorders. Atrial. fibrillation (AF) is associated with a markedly increased risk of stroke and, while study results have consistently demonstrated that anticoagulant therapy with warfarin reduces this risk, there are substantial unmet needs in the management of AF-associated thrombotic risk. In particular, warfarin has unpredictable activity leading to the risk of bleeding complications and the need for routine anticoagulant monitoring. Ximelagatran has a range of potential benefits over warfarin in the prevention of AF-associated stroke, including predictable anticoagulant activity that is not affected by food and a tow potential for drug-drug interactions. Consequently, the risk of bleeding complications may be,reduced and there is a fixed-dose regimen with no requirement for routine anticoagulant monitoring. The SPORTIF (Stroke Prevention using an ORal Thrombin Inhibitor in atrial. Fibrillation) series of studies is investigating the extent to which these potential advantages translate into clinical benefits. SPORTIF III is a Phase III study of the efficacy and safety of ximelagatran compared with warfarin in the prevention of stroke in 3407 patients with AF. The results demonstrate that ximelagatran has effectiveness non-inferior to well-controlled warfarin in the prevention of stroke and is associated with a lower risk of bleeding complications. With its predictable anticoagulant effect and the enhanced convenience offered by a fixed-dose regimen and with no requirement for routine coagulation monitoring, these results indicate that ximelagatran promises clinical benefits over warfarin that could improve the management of stroke risk in patients with AF. (C) 2004 The European Society of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/281661
- author
- Olsson, Bertil LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2004
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- ximetagatran, antagonists, oral vitamin K, stroke prevention, oral direct thrombin inhibitors, non-valvular atrial fibrillation, SPORTIF III
- in
- European Heart Journal Supplements
- volume
- 6
- issue
- B
- pages
- 20 - 24
- publisher
- Oxford University Press
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000220835500005
- scopus:1942488996
- ISSN
- 1520-765X
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.ehjsup.2004.01.014
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 7a5cb176-3dd6-4533-aa00-9996e245456b (old id 281661)
- alternative location
- http://eurheartjsupp.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/6/suppl_B/B20
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 15:47:45
- date last changed
- 2022-03-14 19:59:28
@article{7a5cb176-3dd6-4533-aa00-9996e245456b,
abstract = {{Ximelagatran is the first oral agent in a new class of direct thrombin inhibitors and is under investigation for the prevention and treatment of a range of thromboembolic disorders. Atrial. fibrillation (AF) is associated with a markedly increased risk of stroke and, while study results have consistently demonstrated that anticoagulant therapy with warfarin reduces this risk, there are substantial unmet needs in the management of AF-associated thrombotic risk. In particular, warfarin has unpredictable activity leading to the risk of bleeding complications and the need for routine anticoagulant monitoring. Ximelagatran has a range of potential benefits over warfarin in the prevention of AF-associated stroke, including predictable anticoagulant activity that is not affected by food and a tow potential for drug-drug interactions. Consequently, the risk of bleeding complications may be,reduced and there is a fixed-dose regimen with no requirement for routine anticoagulant monitoring. The SPORTIF (Stroke Prevention using an ORal Thrombin Inhibitor in atrial. Fibrillation) series of studies is investigating the extent to which these potential advantages translate into clinical benefits. SPORTIF III is a Phase III study of the efficacy and safety of ximelagatran compared with warfarin in the prevention of stroke in 3407 patients with AF. The results demonstrate that ximelagatran has effectiveness non-inferior to well-controlled warfarin in the prevention of stroke and is associated with a lower risk of bleeding complications. With its predictable anticoagulant effect and the enhanced convenience offered by a fixed-dose regimen and with no requirement for routine coagulation monitoring, these results indicate that ximelagatran promises clinical benefits over warfarin that could improve the management of stroke risk in patients with AF. (C) 2004 The European Society of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.}},
author = {{Olsson, Bertil}},
issn = {{1520-765X}},
keywords = {{ximetagatran; antagonists; oral vitamin K; stroke prevention; oral direct thrombin inhibitors; non-valvular atrial fibrillation; SPORTIF III}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{B}},
pages = {{20--24}},
publisher = {{Oxford University Press}},
series = {{European Heart Journal Supplements}},
title = {{New advances in stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation: ximelagatran and direct thrombin inhibition}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ehjsup.2004.01.014}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.ehjsup.2004.01.014}},
volume = {{6}},
year = {{2004}},
}