Because atrial fibrillation promotes the formation of blood clots that can travel to the brain and block an artery, atrial fibrillation independently increases the risk of ischemic stroke four-to-five-fold. In this issue expert authors review drug therapies for stroke prevention, use of the new anticoagulants, ablation strategies for stroke prevention, LAA closure for stroke prevention, stroke in heart rhythm device patients, transesophageal echo in atrial fibrillation, and other topics important to the management of this serious complication.

"A comprehensive and well-referenced source of evolving information, clinical trials and their implications." Reviewed by Perfusion, Apr 2015