UNC Hem/Onc Fellow Sam Short, MD and collaborators/mentors from the REGARDS study published two papers in JTH about stroke risk in atrial fibrillation.
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Improving stroke risk prediction in atrial fibrillation with circulating biomarkers: the CHA2DS2-VASc–Biomarkers model (DOI: 10.1016/j.jtha.2025.06.007)
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Circulating biomarkers and ischemic stroke risk in adults with atrial fibrillation taking anticoagulation: the Reasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke study (DOI: 10.1016/j.jtha.2025.05.029)
These studies examined whether circulating biomarkers could improve modeling of stroke risk in people with atrial fibrillation not on anticoagulation (to consider this) and, secondarily, among those already taking anticoagulation to examine residual risk. They developed a new clinical risk calculator (the CHA2DS2-VASc–Biomarkers model) which improved CHA2DS2-VASc stroke risk prediction by adding NTproBNP and GDF15. They also found differences in associations for various biomarkers by anticoagulant use. Findings are relevant to those wishing to understand pathways to stroke and anticoagulant prescription strategies in atrial fibrillation.