Could Treatment with Warfarin and Aspirin Increase Dementia Risk?
Long-term treatment with warfarin (the anti-clotting drug) and aspirin (antiplatelet therapy) could increase dementia risk in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), according to a recent study.
For the study, researchers monitored 2693 participants with AF treated with a combination of warfarin and aspirin for up to 10 years.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RELATED CONTENT
Incorrect Blood Thinner Dose Ups Dementia Risk
Is There a Greater Bleeding Risk with Dabigatran Than Warfarin?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“The mechanisms behind the association of AF and dementia are unknown,” the authors wrote. “One possibility is exposure to chronic microembolism or microbleeds results in repetitive cerebral injury that is manifest by cognitive decline. We hypothesize that AF patients with a low percentage of time in therapeutic range (TTR) are at higher risk of dementia due exposure to under- or over-anticoagulation.
Results showed a correlation between patients’ TTR and the risk of developing dementia. They found that those with < 25%, 25%-50%, and 51%-75% TTR were 4.5%, 4.1%, and 2.5% more likely to develop dementia, respectively.
“These data support the possibility of chronic cerebral injury as a mechanism that underlies the association of AF and dementia,” they concluded.
The complete study is published at the 2014 Annual Heart Rhythm Society Scientific Session in San Francisco, California.
-Michelle Canales
Reference:
1. Bunch TJ, May HT, Bair TL, et al. Time outside of therapeutic range in atrial fibrillation patients is associated with long-term risk of dementia. Presented at: 2014 Annual Heart Rhythm Society Scientific Session; San Francisco, CA. http://intermountainhealthcare.org/hospitals/imed/services/heart-institute/research/Pages/Abstracts.aspx. Accessed November 17, 2014.