Dear Members,
This month’s newsletter finds us with summer fast approaching and with that the ESC which is starting right after summer recess. So, get ready for submission of your late braking science before June 8th!
While the ESC is still an online meeting, let’s hope we will be able to meet “live” again soon.
This issue’s “Paper of the Month” deals with the RIVER trial that studied NOAC use in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and bioprosthetic heart valves. The paper is commented on by Christina Christersson and Panteleimon Papakonstantinou and comes at the same time as the update of the 2018 version of the Practical Guide on the use of NOACs in AF to which the Dutch Cardiovascular Medicine website alerted me with their editorial.
The first edition of this ‘Practical Guide’ was published in 2013, updated in 2015 and fully revised in 2018. The EHRA Practical Guide’s purpose is to provide support for safe and effective use of NOACs in daily practice, supplementing ESC and other international guidelines that mainly focus on the scientific evidence for treatment of patients with AF with anticoagulation in general and of NOACs in particular.
The updated guide describes that while NOACs have an improved efficacy/safety ratio with predictable anticoagulant effects without the need for routine coagulation monitoring, proper use of the different NOACs requires a carefully considered approach to many practical aspects and many clinical situations. Situations that, while formulated in instructions, may differ slightly between drugs and countries which can be confused by physician education tools.
For this updated edition, a writing group formulated practical answers to 16 clinical scenarios, based on updated information. During the conception and writing of the 2021 Practical Guide, a public call was made to all EHRA members as well as to the Heads of the National Cardiac Societies to submit their suggestions additions, corrections, modifications, etc. to the 2018 version of the Guide, and these have been incorporated wherever possible and appropriate. Indeed, it is well timed with our paper of the month in this issue of our newsletter.
Enjoy and we hope to see you all again soon online.
On behalf of the Working Group nucleus,
Heleen van Beusekom, Communication Coordinator 2020-2022 and Christina Christersson
Our mission: To reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease.