Atrial fibrillation (AFib) affects more than 2.5 million Americans and is responsible for 15-20 percent of all strokes. Clinical practice guidelines recommend the use of anticoagulants to prevent strokes in high risk AFib patients, but data from the ACC’s PINNACLE Registry® show suboptimal rates of anticoagulation in clinical practice.

ACC’s Anticoagulation Initiative is a comprehensive quality effort, to help facilitate a greater understanding of AFib treatments and practice patterns. This multidisciplinary effort addresses gaps in knowledge in order to develop processes and tools aimed at meeting guideline-recommended standards and improving quality of anticoagulation care. Current resources and activities include:

  • Anticoagulation Consortium Roundtables: The ACC convenes yearly roundtable meetings, drawing top experts from a wide range of disciplines and medical specialty societies, as well as other stakeholders, to discuss key issues in anticoagulation treatment, and strategize on future approaches to address barriers in care. (The Roundtables have been supported by Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.; Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Pfizer; and Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)
  • Anticoagulation Management Clinical Topic Collection: A dedicated page featuring relevant news articles, case challenges, and clinical resources to provide a centralized source for clinicians to find the latest clinical information and perspectives related to anticoagulation.
  • Mobile Tools:
    • AnticoagEvaluator: This app helps clinicians make informed decisions on antithrombotic therapy for their non-valvular AFib patients. The app calculates a patient's CHA2DS2-VASc and HAS-BLED scores to provide an assessment of stroke and bleed risk associated with therapeutic options vs. no therapy, and calculates creatinine clearance to provide accurate dosing.
    • BridgeAnticoag: This app supports clinicians across specialties in safely managing anticoagulation around an invasive procedure for NVAF patients. The app calculates patient and procedural risk to provide individualized advice that balances bleed and stroke risk. Clinicians can use the app to assess whether and when to interrupt, whether and how to bridge, and how to restart anticoagulation.
  • Anticoagulation Shared Decision Making Tool: An interactive tool that helps physicians and patients make the best decision regarding anticoagulation therapy for individual patients with AFib.