Thrombosis Research Institute (TRI) to Announce New Real-World Insights in Atrial Fibrillation at ESC Congress 2018

Munich (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Satellite symposium will highlight the breadth of evidence
collected since the establishment of the registry in 2009
- An analysis of the comparative effectiveness of oral anticoagulants
in everyday practice will be presented
- The economic burden of atrial fibrillation (AF) in nine European
countries will be evaluated

The latest results from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the
Field - Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) will be presented at the
forthcoming ESC Congress 2018, organised by the European Society of
Cardiology, to be held in Munich, Germany, from 25th to 29th August.

Data will be presented as posters, oral presentations and at the
late breaking science session on clinical registries, exploring a
range of areas including the burden attributable to AF in nine
European countries, clinicians' prescribing tendencies, and how the
quality of stroke prevention has changed over time.

The late breaking science session "Registry Results 2" on Tuesday
28th August, 14:30-15:45, (Centre Stage - The Hub) will see
Professors John Camm and Keith Fox present the latest results from
the GARFIELD-AF Registry. Professor Camm will highlight significant
differences in the risk of mortality in favour of OACs (vs. no OAC)
and NOACs (vs. VKAS) even after adjustment for baseline variables.
Professor Fox will present findings that challenge the use of
combined OAC+AP therapy, particularly among those without a clear
indication for AP therapy.

"We are excited to have a strong presence at this year's ESC
Congress, as a result of the wealth of new GARFIELD-AF data, which
will be presented by some of the leading investigators involved in
the registry," said Rt Hon Professor the Lord Ajay K. Kakkar,
Professor of Surgery at University College London and Director of the
Thrombosis Research Institute (TRI), UK.

GARFIELD-AF is the largest ongoing prospective registry of
patients with AF. It is a pioneering, independent outcomes research
initiative led by an international steering committee under the
auspices of the TRI. It has generated at least 2 years of follow-up
data in over 52,000 patients with newly diagnosed AF.

Key results will be unveiled during the TRI Satellite Symposium
which will showcase the wealth of evidence collected since the
establishment of GARFIELD-AF in 2010.

GARFIELD-AF: New light shed on Atrial Fibrillation and its
management

- Satellite Symposium
- Saturday 25th August 2018 from 15.30 - 17.00 (all times CEST) -
Room Vienna - Village 3

Members of the GARFIELD-AF Steering Committee will present a
variety of results, including new insights on the quality of stroke
prevention and its clinical effectiveness in routine care, and
presentations on the real-world record of change in prescribing
practice and outcomes. The new GARFIELD-AF risk score and its online
application will also be discussed. The symposium will also include a
panel discussion led by Professors Jean-Pierre Bassand (France) and
Samuel Z. Goldhaber (USA).

Other key data from GARFIELD-AF will be presented during the
following sessions:

Rapid Fire Abstract Session entitled 'Atrial fibrillation -
Detection, treatment, outcomes' - (11:00 - 12:30, Sunday 26th August;
Location: Agora 2 - Agora)

"The effect of non-recommended dosing of non-vitamin K antagonist
oral anticoagulants (NOACs) on 1-year mortality in patients with
newly diagnosed AF. Results from the GARFIELD-AF registry."

Professor John Camm (UK) will highlight the impact of using
non-recommended doses of NOACs for stroke prevention in in patients
with newly diagnosed AF.

Poster Session 3 - (14.00 - 18.00, Sunday 26th August)

Evaluation of the effect of oral anticoagulants on all-cause
mortality within 3 months of the diagnosis of atrial fibrillation

Karen Pieper (USA) will reveal significant early mortality in
patients with newly diagnosed AF and significant mortality
differences in favour of OACs, even after adjustment for 29 baseline
variables.

The economic burden attributable to atrial fibrillation in nine
European countries

Paolo Cozzolino (Italy) will report that the economic burden of
AF, a growing public health problem, correlates with differences in
management between countries.

Poster Session 5 - (14.00 - 18.00, Monday 27th August)

Why do clinicians withhold anticoagulation in patients with atrial
fibrillation and CHA2DS2-VASc score >=2?

Dr Deborah Siegal (Canada) will report that guideline-based
treatment with oral anticoagulants was associated with better
outcomes, results that emphasise the need to better understand
decision-making to improve oral anticoagulant prescription rates and
outcomes in AF.

Why do clinicians prescribe oral anticoagulation in patients with
atrial fibrillation despite a low CHA2DS2-VASc score?

Frederik Verbrugge (Belgium) will report on the discrepancy
between patient characteristics that predict OAC use in AF patients
with a very low CHA2DS2-VASc score and factors reported by clinicians
that influence their decision-making.

About the GARFIELD-AF registry

GARFIELD-AF is a worldwide observational programme that aims to
enhance the breadth and depth of understanding of stroke prevention
in atrial fibrillation (AF), ultimately informing strategies to
improve patient outcomes, safety and utilisation of healthcare
resources.

It offers a unique opportunity to obtain a comprehensive and
contemporary description of the spectrum of patients with AF and
their management worldwide as they evolve over time. The registry is
important in bridging the gap between research and clinical practice,
serving to increase awareness of the importance of thrombosis and its
treatment.

GARFIELD-AF recruited patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular AF
and at least one risk factor for stroke. A total of 57,262 patients
were recruited from over 1000 centres in 35 countries worldwide,
including the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific, over five
sequential cohorts. Follow-up is over a minimum of 2 years and up to
8 years after diagnosis, to create a comprehensive database of
treatment decisions and outcomes in everyday clinical practice.

GARFIELD-AF is a pioneering, independent academic research
initiative led by an international steering committee under the
auspices of the TRI, London, UK.

Contemporary understanding of AF is based on data gathered in
controlled clinical trials. Whilst essential for evaluating the
efficacy and safety of new treatments, these trials are not
representative of everyday clinical practice and, hence, uncertainty
persists about the real-life burden and management of this disease.
GARFIELD-AF seeks to provide insights into the impact of
anticoagulant therapy on thromboembolic and bleeding complications
seen in this patient population. It will provide a better
understanding of the potential opportunities for improving care and
clinical outcomes amongst a representative and diverse group of
patients and across distinctive populations. This should help
physicians and healthcare systems to appropriately adopt innovation
to ensure the best outcomes for patients and populations.

The registry started in December 2009. Four key design features of
the GARFIELD-AF protocol ensure a comprehensive and representative
description of AF; these are:

- Five sequential cohorts of prospective, newly diagnosed patients,
facilitating comparisons of discrete time periods and describing
the evolution of treatments and outcomes;
- Investigator sites that are selected randomly within carefully
assigned national AF care setting distributions, ensuring that the
enrolled patient population is representative;
- Enrolment of consecutive eligible patients regardless of therapy to
eliminate potential selection bias;
- Follow-up data captured for a minimum of 2 and up to 8 years after
diagnosis, to create a comprehensive database of treatment
decisions and outcomes in everyday clinical practice.

Included patients must have been diagnosed with non-valvular AF
within the previous 6 weeks and have at least one risk factor for
stroke; as such, they are potential candidates for anticoagulant
therapy to prevent blood clots leading to stroke. It is left to the
investigator to identify a patient's stroke risk factor(s), which
need not be restricted to those included in established risk scores.
Patients are included whether or not they receive anticoagulant
therapy, so that the merit of current and future treatment strategies
can be properly understood in relation to patients' individual risk
profiles.

The GARFIELD-AF registry is funded by an unrestricted research
grant from Bayer AG, Berlin, Germany.

For more information, visit our website:
http://www.garfieldregistry.org

The burden of AF

Up to 2% of the global population has AF,[1] including around 8.8
million people in Europe[2] and 5-6.1 million in the United
States.[3] It is estimated that its prevalence will at least double
by 2050 as the global population ages.[3] AF is associated with a
five-fold increase in stroke risk, and one out of five strokes is
attributed to this arrhythmia.[1] Ischaemic strokes related to AF are
often fatal, and those patients who survive are left more frequently
and more severely disabled and have a greater risk of recurrence than
patients with other causes of stroke.[1] Hence, the risk of mortality
from AF-associated stroke is doubled and the cost of care is 50%
higher.[1]

AF occurs when parts of the atria emit uncoordinated electrical
signals. This causes the chambers to pump too quickly and
irregularly, not allowing blood to be pumped out completely.[4] As a
result, blood may pool, clot and lead to thrombosis, which is the
number one cardiovascular killer in the world.[5] If a blood clot
leaves the left atrium, it could potentially lodge in an artery in
other parts of the body, including the brain. A blood clot in an
artery in the brain leads to a stroke; 92% of fatal strokes are
caused by thrombosis.[5] Stroke is a major cause of death and
long-term disability worldwide - each year, 6.5 million people die[6]
and 5 million are left permanently disabled.[7] People with AF also
are at high risk for heart failure, chronic fatigue and other heart
rhythm problems.[8]

About the TRI

The TRI is dedicated to bringing new solutions to patients for the
detection, prevention and treatment of blood clots. The TRI's goal is
to advance the science of real-world enquiry so that the value of
real-world data is realised and becomes a critical link in the chain
of evidence. Our pioneering research programme, across medical
disciplines and across the world, continues to provide breakthrough
solutions in thrombosis.

For more information, visit: http://www.tri-london.ac.uk/.

References:

1. Camm A J, Kirchhof P, et al. Guidelines for the management of
atrial fibrillation: The Task Force for the Management of Atrial
Fibrillation of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Eur
Heart J 2010; 31(19):2369-429.
2. Krijthe B P, Kunst A, et al. Projections on the number of
individuals with atrial fibrillation in the European Union, from
2000 to 2060. Eur Heart J 2013; 34:2746-51.
3. Colilla S, Crow A, Petkun W, et al. Estimates of current and
future incidence and prevalence of atrial fibrillation in the U.S.
adult population. Am J Cardiol 2013; 112(8):1142-7.
4. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. What is Atrial
Fibrillation? Available at:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/af/. [Last
accessed: 10 August
5. World Thrombosis Day. Know Thrombosis. Available at:
http://www.worldthrombosisday.org/issue/thrombosis/. [Last
accessed: 10 August 2018].
6. World Stroke Organization. World Stroke Campaign. Available at:
http://www.worldstrokecampaign.org/. [Last accessed: 10 August
2018].
7. Stroke Centre. Stroke Statistics. Available at: http://www.strokec
enter.org/patients/about-stroke/stroke-statistics/. [Last
accessed: 10 August 2018].
8. American Heart Association. Why Atrial Fibrillation (AF or AFib)
Matters. Available at: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Ar
rhythmia/AboutArrhythmia/Why-Atrial-Fibrillation-AF-or-AFib-Matter
s_UCM_423776_Article.jsp. [Last accessed: 10 August 2018].

ots Originaltext: The Thrombosis Research Institute
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Rae Hobbs
RHobbs@tri-london.ac.uk
+44(0)7753-825-217

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