Table 1.
Characteristics of cohorts with carotid disease and atrial fibrillation, by anticoagulant and antiplatelet medication use after ischaemic stroke, before propensity score matching
| Characteristic | NOACs without APA (n=1628) |
NOACs plus APA (n=1401) |
Warfarin without APA (n=1243) |
Warfarin plus APA (n=1436) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD) | 75.0 (10.4) | 74.2 (9.9) | 73.4 (11.6) | 73.9 (11.7) |
| Female | 46.7 (760) | 38.5 (540) | 42.9 (533) | 47.1 (662) |
| Ethnicity* | ||||
| White | 75.0 (1221) | 78.9 (1105) | 78.2 (972) | 79.2 (1138) |
| Black or African American | 13.9 (226) | 11.9 (167) | 12.5 (155) | 11.8 (169) |
| Unknown | 9.8 (159) | 7.2 (101) | 8.5 (106) | 7.9 (113) |
| Hypertensive diseases | 72.9 (1187) | 69.5 (973) | 94.3 (1172) | 96.1 (1380) |
| Ischemic heart diseases | 44.6 (726) | 49.4 (692) | 68.1 (847) | 79.3 (1139) |
| Heart failure | 33.2 (541) | 36.0 (504) | 59.5 (739) | 67.4 (968) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 33.4 (543) | 39.3 (550) | 50.3 (625) | 54.5 (782) |
| Acute kidney failure and chronic kidney disease | 31.6 (514) | 35.0 (490) | 55.1 (685) | 64.9 (932) |
| Liver disease | 11.6 (189) | 11.1 (156) | 18.6 (231) | 19.1 (274) |
| Atherosclerosis | 19.0 (309) | 18.8 (263) | 31.8 (395) | 33.1 (475) |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 14.7 (239) | 17.8 (249) | 26.6 (331) | 27.7 (398) |
| Presence of aortocoronary bypass graft | 9.7 (158) | 12.0 (168) | 20.4 (254) | 27.3 (392) |
| Presence of coronary angioplasty implant and graft | 7.7 (126) | 11.3 (159) | 10.7 (133) | 16.1 (231) |
| Presence of cardiac pacemaker | 7.7 (125) | 7.2 (101) | 15.6 (194) | 13.5 (194) |
Values are % (n), unless otherwise stated. Medication use based on period 2–6 weeks after ischaemic stroke. NOAC, non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants; SD, standard deviation. *Some other ethnicity categories were available, but the numbers were below 10 and cannot be identified