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Medical Pearls from the Internet Medical Association


In acute cardioembolic stroke patients with atrial fibrillation who are prescribed an oral anticoagulant, bridging therapy with low molecular weight heparin leads to worse outcomes.

Comment: This study strongly suggests that initiation of an oral anticoagulant alone is superior to the use of bridging therapy with low molecular weight heparin. Study findings also suggest that bridging therapy with unfractionated heparin also is not helpful in this group of patients.



Altavilla R et al. Stroke. 2019 Jun 21:STROKEAHA118022856    (retrieved Jul, 2019). There are currently 1090 pearls in the database. While every attempt has been made to ensure accuracy, mistakes can and do occur. Use databank at your own risk. All pearls © 2024 by the Internet Medical Association. Click Here to view more medical pearls.