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Low bleeding and stroke rates in AF patients given rivaroxaban for stroke prevention

London, UK – 1 Sept 2015: Atrial fibrillation (AF) patients treated with rivaroxaban for stroke prevention have low rates of bleeding and stroke, reveals real-world data from the XANTUS study presented at ESC Congress today.1 The findings confirm clinical trial data and demonstrate that oral anticoagulation with rivaroxaban, a direct Factor Xa inhibitor, is safe and effective for stroke prevention in patients with AF at both high- and low-risk of thromboembolic events.

Atrial Fibrillation
Stroke
Risk Factors and Prevention
Diseases of the Aorta, Peripheral Vascular Disease, Stroke


EMBARGO : 1 September 2015 at 11:45 BST

“With 10 million people in Europe alone affected by AF, a number that is only expected to increase, real-world insights on routine anticoagulation management in everyday clinical practice is increasingly important for physicians and patients with AF,” said XANTUS principal investigator Professor A. John Camm, professor of clinical cardiology in the Cardiovascular and Cell Sciences Research Institute at St George’s University of London, UK.

XANTUS is the first international, prospective real-world non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC) study in patients with AF. These patients are five times more likely than the general population to have a stroke. However, oral anticoagulation therapy can prevent many cases of AF-related stroke.

This single-arm, observational study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of rivaroxaban for stroke prevention in 6 784 patients with non-valvular AF from 311 centres across Europe and Canada in routine clinical practice. All treatment and dosing decisions were at the discretion of the treating physicians and patients were followed up for one year or until 30 days after premature discontinuation. Bleeding events and major thromboembolic events were centrally adjudicated by an independent committee.

By the end of the observation period the majority (96.1%) of patients had not experienced treatment-emergent major bleeding, all-cause death or stroke / systemic embolism. The rate of on-treatment all-cause mortality was 1.9% per year. Overall, 2.1% of patients per year experienced treatment-emergent major bleeding and most of these cases were treated using standard clinical measures. The rate of fatal bleeding was 0.2% per year, while stroke occurred in 0.7% patients per year, and critical organ bleeding occurred at a rate of 0.7% per year with 0.4% per year of patients experiencing an intracranial haemorrhage.

“These results demonstrate low rates of both major bleeding and stroke in patients taking rivaroxaban in routine clinical practice,” said Professor Camm. “The findings reaffirm the positive benefit-risk profile of rivaroxaban established in the phase III clinical trial ROCKET AF, in which rivaroxaban was shown to provide effective stroke prevention with a similar overall bleeding profile and significantly lower rates of the most feared intracranial and fatal bleeds compared with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs).”2

He continued: “The patients included in ROCKET AF were at moderate to high risk of stroke with a mean CHADS2 score of 3.5, and the incidence of major bleeding in those taking rivaroxaban was 3.6 per 100 person-years. In XANTUS, patients seen in daily clinical practice had a lower risk of stroke with a mean CHADS2 score of 2.0 and the incidence rate of major bleeding was lower at 2.1 per 100 person-years.”

Furthermore, XANTUS showed that the majority of patients (80%) persisted on their treatment with rivaroxaban throughout the one year study period, whereas other recent data on VKAs has shown a persistence rate of 62% after one year. “Treatment persistence is especially important as discontinuation of anticoagulation leaves patients with AF unprotected from the risk of stroke,” said Professor Camm.

He concluded: “These real-world insights from XANTUS complement and expand on what we already know from clinical trials, and provide physicians with reassurance to prescribe rivaroxaban as an effective and well-tolerated treatment option for the broad range of patients with AF seen in their everyday clinical practice.”

ENDS

References

1Professor Camm will present the abstract ‘XANTUS: Low rates of bleeding and stroke in a real-world, prospective, observational study of patients treated with rivaroxaban for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation’ at 11:45 during:
•    Registry III - Prevention on Tuesday 1 September at 11:00 in Hyde Park (The Hub)
2Patel MR, Mahaffey KW, Garg J, et al. Rivaroxaban versus warfarin in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. N Engl J Med. 2011;365:883-891.

Notes to editor

SOURCES OF FUNDING: The study was supported by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals and Janssen Research & Development, LLC.
DISCLOSURES:
Professor Camm has acted as a consultant for AstraZeneca, Bayer HealthCare, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Daiichi Sankyo, Pfizer, Sanofi, Aryx, and Johnson & Johnson. Other co-authors report the following: Pierre Amarenco has acted as a consultant for Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi Sankyo, AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Boston Scientific, Edwards, Lundbeck, Merck, and Kowa Pharmaceutical. Sylvia Haas has acted as a consultant for Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Daiichi Sankyo, Pfizer, and Sanofi. Paulus Kirchhof has received consulting fees and honoraria from 3M Medica, MEDA Pharma, AstraZeneca, Bayer HealthCare, Biosense Webster, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi Sankyo, German Cardiac Society, Medtronic, Merck, MSD, Otsuka Pharma, Pfizer/Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi, Servier, Siemens, and Takeda. Alexander G.G. Turpie has been a consultant for Bayer HealthCare, Janssen Pharmaceutical Research & Development, Astellas, Portola, and Takeda. Susanne Hess, Silvia Kuhls and Martin van Eickels are employees of Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals.

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About the European Society of Cardiology
The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) represents more than 90 000 cardiology professionals across Europe and worldwide. Its mission is to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease in Europe.
 
About ESC Congress 2015
ESC Congress is the world’s largest and most influential cardiovascular event contributing to global awareness of the latest clinical trials and breakthrough discoveries. ESC Congress 2015 takes place 29 August to 2 September at ExCel London in London, UK. Access the scientific programme. More information is available from the ESC Press Office at press@escardio.org.

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This press release accompanies both a presentation and an ESC press conference at the ESC Congress 2015. Edited by the ESC from material supplied by the investigators themselves, this press release does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Society of Cardiology. The content of the press release has been approved by the presenter.