Journal
AGING CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
Volume 27, Issue 1, Pages 99-102Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s40520-014-0243-x
Keywords
Anti-Clot Treatment Scale; Atrial fibrillation; Elderly; New oral anticoagulants; Oral anticoagulation; Perceived Stress Scale
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Background and aims Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in elderly people, yet oral anticoagulation is underused in the aged. We tried to determine whether new oral anticoagulants (NOA) have greater psychological tolerability than warfarin. Methods Age-, gender-matched groups of AF patients receiving NOA (N = 15) or warfarin (N = 15) were assessed with the Anti-Clot Treatment Scale (ACTS) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Results Patients were old (81 +/- 9 years). NOA group showed greater psychological satisfaction, with lower therapy-related burden (ACTS burdens: 16.3 +/- 4.5 vs. 32.9 +/- 10.2, p < 0.001) and higher awareness of benefits (ACTS benefits: 13.0 +/- 1.3 vs. 10.8 +/- 1.9, p = 0.001). Even stress was lower (PSS: 13.1 +/- 4.0 vs. 17.1 +/- 4.2, p = 0.013). The multivariate analysis confirmed these findings, showing that higher levels of anxiety and depression could justify more stress in warfarin patients. Conclusions The results of this preliminary study show that NOA have an improved psychological impact compared with warfarin in elderly patients.
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