Foreword trial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia that is seen in clinical practice. It is a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in clinical practice and increases the risk of stroke 5-fold and accounts for Z20% of all strokes. Warfarin, a vitamin K antagonist, has been proven to be an effective therapy compared with placebo or control. However, it has major limitations that are important. Four new non–vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants have been shown in selected patients to be as effective as warfarin for stroke prevention and are associated with lower complication rates. Professor Lip is a leader in this field and is recognized worldwide as an expert in the use of all of these oral anticoagulants. He and his colleagues have provided an authoritative and comprehensive article. The editors are grateful to them for this superior article and also to Dr Gregory Marcus* for his excellent comments.
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Shahbudin H. Rahimtoola, MD Editor
*Gregory M. Marcus MD, MAS, FACC, FAHA, FHRS is the Director of Clinical Research, Division of Cardiology, Associate Professor of Medicine University of California, San Francisco, CA.
Curr Probl Cardiol 2014;39:317. 0146-2806/$ – see front matter http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpcardiol.2014.07.002
Curr Probl Cardiol, September 2014
317
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Shahbudin H. Rahimtoola, MD Editor
*Gregory M. Marcus MD, MAS, FACC, FAHA, FHRS is the Director of Clinical Research, Division of Cardiology, Associate Professor of Medicine University of California, San Francisco, CA.
Curr Probl Cardiol 2014;39:317. 0146-2806/$ – see front matter http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpcardiol.2014.07.002
Curr Probl Cardiol, September 2014
317
