Abstract
Introduction: Anticoagulant therapy can prevent adverse outcomes of Atrial fibrillation (AF), reducing the risk of stroke by 64% and death by 25%. The present study aimed to assess treatment adherence in elderly patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) who were prescribed the vitamin K antagonist warfarin.
 
 Materials and methods: In the present retrospective study, we analyzed the medical records of 202 elderly outpatients with NVAF aged between 65 and 74 years (mean ± SD: 68.7 ± 10.2 years). 
 
 Results: Problems associated with warfarin arose throughout the follow-up period. After 1 month of treatment, the number of patients taking warfarin had decreased to 71.3% of all patients; less than half of the patients (46%) were still taking the drug. In subsequent periods, the number continued to decrease; of all patients who had been prescribed warfarin with periodic international normalized ratio (INR) control, only 19 (9.4%) remained after 1 year. Our study revealed inadequate anticoagulation therapy in elderly patients, probably because most patients refused warfarin therapy because they could not control their INR. Moreover, significantly more rural residents than urban residents refused therapy (48 vs. 22; p < 0.05). Doctors underprescribed anticoagulants because they feared hemorrhagic complications in their patients.
 
 Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that anticoagulants were underprescribed at the outpatient stage in centers of family medicine in our country. The main drug of choice for specialists remains warfarin, which only provides adequate therapy in a small number of patients (9.4%).
Highlights
Anticoagulant therapy can prevent adverse outcomes of Atrial fibrillation (AF), reducing the risk of stroke by 64% and death by 25%
After 1 month of treatment, the number of patients taking warfarin had decreased to 71.3% of all patients; less than half of the patients (46%) were still taking the drug
Our study revealed inadequate anticoagulation therapy in elderly patients, probably because most patients refused warfarin therapy because they could not control their international normalized ratio (INR)
Summary
Anticoagulant therapy can prevent adverse outcomes of Atrial fibrillation (AF), reducing the risk of stroke by 64% and death by 25%. The present study aimed to assess treatment adherence in elderly patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) who were prescribed the vitamin K antagonist warfarin. Anticoagulant therapy can prevent adverse outcomes of AF, reducing the risk of stroke by 64% and death by 25% [6]. Antithrombotic therapy is often ineffective over a long period of time, even when prescribed early. In this regard, patients must maintain high adherence to treatment to ensure successful therapy and effective secondary prevention of cardiovascular complications [7]
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