European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Released a New Guideline for Atrial Fibrillation

The ESC published a new guideline in the European Heart Journal on treatment options for atrial fibrillation (AF), presented at the virtual ESC Congress. The guideline recommends the Atrial Fibrillation Better Care (ABC) pathway.

The first leg of the ABC pathway is stroke prevention via anticoagulation. The first step identifies low-risk patients — CHA2DS2-VASc score of 0 in men or 1 in women — and recommends anticoagulation for the rest, preferably after bleeding-risk assessment with the HAS-BLED score.