The risk of an AF-related stroke for people with AF can be substantially reduced by providing effective anticoagulation therapy to prevent the formations of clots in the heart.
They should also have their blood pressure and cholesterol carefully managed. Any patient receiving antiplatelet therapy should be reviewed and Aspirin or Clopidogrel monotherapy should not be used for stroke prevention. When considering initiation and/or monitoring of anticoagulation, consideration should be given to providing this service ‘closer to home’ in community settings and, if appropriate, the patient should be encouraged to self-monitor and self-manage their Warfarin dosing with the use of supporting technology. A community centred approach to delivering anticoagulation services has been shown to yield efficiency savings, reduce delays in initiation, improve patient satisfaction and improve adherence to treatment.
A community centred approach to delivering anticoagulation services has been shown to:
Yield efficiency
savings
Reduce delays
in initiation
Improve patient
satisfaction
Improve adherence
to treatment
In this section, you will find a variety of resources to draw upon, including examples of AF patient pathways, service specifications and commissioning models for anticoagulation services. There are clinical tools to support decision-making both for clinicians and patients, such as the ‘Starting Anticoagulation with Jack’ video from Wessex AHSN.
Featured Resources
SDM Magic North – AF Decision Aids
Shared Decision Making Magic North is a website that includes numerous resources and external links to decision aids for Atrial Fibrillation. read more
NICE – Patient Decision Aid
Atrial fibrillation: medicines to help reduce your risk of a stroke – what are the options? This information is intended to help ... read more
