Specifics of anticoagulation in combination with atrial fibrillation and chronic kidney disease

Abstract

Due to the population aging and the accumulation of concomitant diseases, the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) as the most common arrhythmia is increasing. On the other hand, 14% of the population has chronic kidney disease (CKD). These conditions are often combined with each other causing a prothrombogenic effect, which significantly increase the number of unfavorable outcomes such as thromboembolism, stroke, myocardial infarction and cardiovascular death. This is especially true for the last stages of CKD, the so-called end-stage renal disease with a glomerular filtration rate <29 ml/min/1,73 m2. Previously, the vitamin K antagonist warfarin was the central drug for anticoagulant therapy of AF + CKD combination, but in the last decade, direct oral anticoagulants became widely used. This article discusses the evidence base for using each of the anticoagulants in patients with AF+CKD combination compared with warfarin, including depending on the severity of glomerular filtration rate decrease.