In an accompanying editorial, Sanjay Deshpande, M.D., medical director of electrophysiology at Columbia St. Mary's Hospital, in Milwaukee, and L. Samuel Wann, M.D., a cardiologist at Columbia St. Mary's Hospital, said that clinicians may not realize that aspirin puts patients at risk for bleeding with "virtually no protection from stroke."

"It is concerning that the highly motivated, conscientious, and talented cardiologists working in quality-conscious institutions that contribute their data to the NCDR are not prescribing anti-coagulation in one-third of their qualifying patients, as defined by our guidelines," the editorial authors wrote.


Deshpande and Wann said "new and definitive evidence" demonstrates that anticoagulation, not aspirin, is the treatment of choice to prevent strokes related to atrial fibrillation, but they acknowledged that anticoagulation is difficult, "entailing compliance with a long-term regimen that many patients and their physicians find burdensome."

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The American College of Cardiology is a 52,000-member medical society that is the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team. The mission of the College is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College operates national registries to measure and improve care, offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions, provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research and bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet stringent qualifications. For more, visit acc.org.

The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, which publishes peer-reviewed research on all aspects of cardiovascular disease, is the most widely read cardiovascular journal worldwide. JACC is ranked No. 1 among cardiovascular journals worldwide for its scientific impact.

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