News & Updates

The treatment scope of oral anticoagulants (OACs) remains poor despite increasing treatment rates among high-risk atrial fibrillation (AF) patients, which is primarily credited to the expanding direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) use, reports an Israel study.

A transseptal needle can be used to recanalize the complete long-segment occlusion of the superior vena cava (SVC) without needing to invest further vascular resources, a recent study has found.

Children with central venous thrombosis (CVT) and associated head or neck infections see good 3-month outcomes after treatment with therapeutic anticoagulants, according to a subgroup analysis of the EINSTEIN-Jr study.

Rivaroxaban was associated with a greater risk of major ischaemic or haemorrhagic events compared with apixaban in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) — suggesting that apixaban appears to be preferable over rivaroxaban when considering oral anticoagulant choice in these patients, according to a retrospective cohort study.

Practicing self-compassion can lead to better heart health among women, lowering the risk of developing cardiovascular disease regardless of the presence of risk factors, as suggested in a recent study.

Measuring blood pressure (BP) three or four times while asleep may allow for a reasonably accurate detection of nocturnal hypertension status as compared with a full night of ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM), a recent study has found.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a serious medical condition. It comprises deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Left untreated, it could result in significant morbidity and mortality. Most patients with VTE receive anticoagulation therapy for 3 months or longer. For more than 50 years since the 1940s, vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) such as warfarin were the mainstay of oral anticoagulation therapy for VTE. As it has a narrow therapeutic index, VKAs require frequent coagulation monitoring with International Normalised Ratio (INR) to adjust and optimize the dose for each individual. As the peak effect for warfarin takes at least 4-5 days, in the initial stage of VTE, concurrent administration of daily subcutaneous injections of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) is needed until INR reaches therapeutic levels. Due to numerous drug and dietary interactions with warfarin, regular INR monitoring is required to ensure therapeutic levels are maintained and to avoid under or overdosing.