Gallagher C, Hendriks JM, Nyfort-Hansen K, Sanders P, Lau DH. Integrated care for atrial fibrillation: the heart of the matter. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2020.

The main limitation of the study lies in its observational nature, with a Caucasian-based population and single-center design. Another potential limitation is patient selection since we included only patients starting OAC therapy with VKA for the first time. Previous studies have shown that the initial period of OAC is characterized by an increased risk of adverse events, particularly bleeding ones, and during the first 3 months of VKA therapy, which may have some influence on the results 37, 38, 39. However, our dataset was collected prospectively, under a careful follow-up. Thus, all events (even very early ones) were recorded. Importantly, patients lost to follow-up were excluded for the present analysis. Chugh SS, Havmoeller R, Narayanan K, et al. Worldwide epidemiology of atrial fibrillation: a global burden of disease 2010 study. Circulation 2014;129:837–47.

Diabetes - defined as current use of insulin or anti-diabetic drugs, or a fasting glycemia >125mg/dL (7mmol/L). It usually goes with high values of hemoglobin A1c. Removed Directed letter: UK private arrangements self-help scheme (UKPASH) in response to coronavirus (COVID-19), Romiti GF, Pastori D, Rivera-Caravaca JM, Ding WY, Gue YX, Menichelli D, et al. Adherence to the 'Atrial Fibrillation Better Care' Pathway in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: Impact on Clinical Outcomes-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 285,000 Patients. Thromb Haemost. 2021;122(3):406-14. Guo Y, Lane DA, Wang L, Zhang H, Wang H, Zhang W, et al. Mobile Health Technology to Improve Care for Patients With Atrial Fibrillation. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2020;75(13):1523-34.

The Atrial fibrillation Better Care (ABC) pathway was proposed for a more holistic or integrated care approach to atrial fibrillation (AF) management. We investigated whether adherence with the ABC pathway reduced the risk of adverse clinical outcomes in real-world AF patients starting vitamin K antagonist (VKAs) therapy. Methods B: Better symptom management with patient-centred, symptom-directed decisions on rate or rhythm control; Arbelo E, Aktaa S, Bollmann A, et al. Quality indicators for the care and outcomes of adults with atrial fibrillation. Europace 2020; epub ahead of press. March 2014, appointed Visiting Professor and deliveredthe annual Razavi Lecture at the Cleveland Clinic Medical School, Cleveland, USA.Lip GYH, Freedman B, de Caterina R, Potpara TS. Stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation: past, present and future comparing the guidelines and practical decision-making. Thromb Haemost 2017;117:1230–9. Lip GYH, Banerjee A, Boriani G, Chiang CE, Fargo R, Freedman B, et al. Antithrombotic Therapy for Atrial Fibrillation: CHEST Guideline and Expert Panel Report. Chest. 2018;154(5):1121-201. April 2015, delivered the Michaelides lecture, at the 30th International Meeting on Clinical Cardiology, organized by the Hellenic Heart Foundation; Athens, Greece Goette A, Merino JL, Ezekowitz MD, Zamoryakhin D, Melino M, Jin J, Mercuri MF, Grosso MA, Fernandez V, Al-Saady N, Pelekh N, Merkely B, Zenin S, Kushnir M, Spinar J, Batushkin V, de Groot JR, Lip GY. Edoxaban versus enoxaparin-warfarin in patients undergoing cardioversion of atrial fibrillation (ENSURE-AF): a randomised, open-label, phase 3b trial. Lancet. 2016 Aug 26. pii: S0140-6736(16)31474-X. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31474-X.

Managed and developedinternational registry collaborations with ESC/non-ESC countries(Asia-Pacific HRS, Japan, China, Serbia, Iran) as part of the INTER-AF collaboration (see PMID: 27806965). Nielsen PB, Larsen TB, Skjøth F, Lip GY. Outcomes Associated With Resuming Warfarin Treatment After Hemorrhagic Stroke or Traumatic Intracranial Haemorrhage in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation. JAMA Intern Med. 2017 Feb 20. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.9369.

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Wang YF, Jiang C, He L, Du X, Sang CH, Long DY, et al. Integrated Care of Atrial Fibrillation Using the ABC (Atrial fibrillation Better Care) Pathway Improves Clinical Outcomes in Chinese Population: An Analysis From the Chinese Atrial Fibrillation Registry. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2021;8:762245. Schulman S, Kearon C. Definition of major bleeding in clinical investigations of antihemostatic medicinal products in non-surgical patients. J Thromb Haemost. 2005;3(4):692-4.