Improved Calculator Predicts Stroke Risk For A-Fib Patients
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Aug. 11, 2025 — A newly refined test can help detect which people with abnormal heart rhythms need treatment for an increased risk of stroke, researchers report.
Adding blood tests to an existing risk calculator can help doctors suss out which patients with atrial fibrillation would most benefit from blood thinners, according to findings published Aug. 6 in the Journal of Thrombosis and Hemostasis.
“This could be a game-changer for stroke prevention,” said senior researcher Dr. Mary Cushman, a professor of medicine and pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Vermont.
“We’re giving physicians a sharper tool to provide a personalized approach to anticoagulation for patients who need it most, while sparing others from unnecessary risk,” she said in a news release.
People with atrial fibrillation (A-Fib) have a fivefold increased risk of stroke, due to blood pooling and potentially clotting in the quivering upper chambers of their hearts, researchers said in background notes.
Doctors counter this risk by prescribing blood thinners, but the drugs themselves pose the risk of dangerous or uncontrolled bleeding, researchers said.
An existing risk calculator called the CHA2DS2-VASc helps doctors calculate stroke odds for A-Fib patients before prescribing blood thinners, but researchers said the score has limited capability and doesn’t account for important risk factors.
To improve the calculator’s usefulness, researchers evaluated nine blood tests to see whether they could predict stroke in 2,400 A-Fib patients.
Results showed that two blood tests for proteins associated with heart function and inflammation increased the CHA2DS2-VASc calculator’s ability to predict stroke, researchers said.
The research team has posted the improved calculator, now dubbed CHA2DS2-VASc-Biomarkers, online for doctors to use.
“This will help doctors better select patients for anticoagulation, potentially saving lives and reducing health care costs,” lead researcher Dr. Samuel Short, a hematology fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said in a news release.
Sources
- University of Vermont, news release, Aug. 6, 2025
- Journal of Thrombosis and Hemostasis, Aug. 6, 2025
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted August 2025
Read this next
Stalking Victims At Higher Risk For Future Heart Problems
MONDAY, Aug. 11, 2025 — Victims of stalkers appear to have an increased risk of heart disease, a new study says. Women who had been stalked or had obtained a restraining...
FDA Warns About Safety Issues With Boston Scientific Heart Devices
THURSDAY, Aug. 7, 2025 — U.S. health officials are warning patients and physicians about safety issues associated with two Boston Scientific heart implants, which have been...
Cardiac Rehab Is Safe for Folks With A-Fib, And Might Even Help Ease It
WEDNESDAY, July 30, 2025 — If you’ve had a heart attack or are in heart failure, doctors often prescribe cardiac rehabilitation to strengthen your heart. A new...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.