Title:Hypertension and Atrial Fibrillation: Any Change with the New Anticoagulants
Volume: 20
Issue: 39
Author(s): Lorenzo Ghiadoni, Stefano Taddei and Agostino Virdis
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Hypertension, atrial fibrillation, vitamin K antagonists, new oral anticoagulants.
Abstract: Hypertension and atrial fibrillation are the most common cardiovascular risk factors and clinically significant arrhythmia, respectively.
These conditions frequently coexist and their prevalence increases rapidly with aging.
Despite several different risk factors and clinical conditions predisposing to hypertension for its high prevalence in the population is still
the main risk factor for the development of atrial fibrillation. Several pathophysiologic mechanisms (such as structural changes at the
level of left ventricle and or atrium, neurohormonal activation, arterial stiffness, etc.) can contribute to the onset of atrial fibrillation.
Some antihypertensive treatments have been shown to contribute to reduce the risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation.
Atrial fibrillation is a major risk factor for stroke, which is further increased in the presence of hypertension. For this reason, hypertension
is included as a major risk factor in the available models for the risk stratification and the prevention of thromboembolism in patients
with atrial fibrillation. In this article we will review the relationship between atrial fibrillation and hypertension, looking at the possible
specific indications of the antithrombotic treatment with new classes of anticoagulants in the prevention of thromboembolic events in hypertensive
patients with atrial fibrillation.
