The FINANCIAL — NEW YORK, NY. Nearly 40% of diagnosed "high-risk" atrial fibrillation patients in the 5EU are not taking an anticoagulant to prevent stroke, according to new findings from the National Health and Wellness Survey , conducted by Kantar Health and presented today at the 14th ISPOR European Congress in Madrid, Spain. AF is a major independent risk factor for stroke, particularly in older patients, and patients with AF have an approximately 5% annual risk for stroke.
"Across all risk groups in the 5EU, 45% of all diagnosed AF patients aren't taking an anticoagulant to prevent stroke," says Gina Isherwood, Ph.D., Regional Brand Director with Kantar Health. "Our research shows that the tendency to take medication to prevent stroke increases along with risk status. Still, a large number of patients considered 'high risk' aren't taking an anticoagulant. Being at high risk for stroke has substantial burden for these patients, reducing their physical quality of life and increasing healthcare resource use."
Kantar Health's data show that high-risk AF patients have significantly lower physical quality of life compared with low-risk AF patients, and both high- and moderate-risk patients had significantly lower health utility scores compared with low-risk patients. In addition, high-risk patients reported significantly more visits to their healthcare provider and a greater number of hospitalizations in the past six months than low- or moderate-risk patients.
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