Drug Lowers Risk of Stroke from Atrial Fibrillation

A study has found that a new drug called ximelagatran (Exanta, AstraZeneca) is as effective as warfarin at reducing strokes from blood clots in people with atrial fibrillation (AF), but does not require the continual monitoring that warfarin requires. The study results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando (FL, USA).

Patients with AF are at five times greater risk of stroke than the general population. The study, involving 3,922 patients with AF, also showed that that the same dose of the new drug can be given to all patients and its effects are not significantly influenced by food or alcohol. Moreover, ximelagatran has displayed a low potential for interactions with other drugs. Warfarin, in contrast, requires frequent monitoring to keep the drug at safe levels, has complicated dosing requirements, and should not be taken with certain foods, alcohol, and medicines such as pain killers, antibiotics, and statins.

"Ximelagatran, when licensed, could potentially transform our approach to the management of stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation, particularly in those patients where monitoring is difficult and where there are concerns about interactions of warfarin with other drugs, or anticoagulation responses to warfarin are highly variable,” said principal investigator Professor Gary Ford, consultant stroke physician, the Freeman Hospital stroke service, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK.