Table 1.

Search strategy and selection criteria.

References for this review were identified through PubMed (between January 1990, to April 2012) using the search terms: (a) “microbleed(s),” or “micro(-)h(a)emorrhage(s),” or “petechial h(a)emorrhage(s),” or “gradient-echo,” “T2*,” or “susceptibility,” and (b) “atrial fibrillation,” “anticoagulants,” “warfarin,” and “dabigatran.” The reference list from retrieved articles, related review articles, clinical guidelines and the authors’ own files were also searched for relevant publications. Searches focused on English-language sources and studies in human subjects. The final reference list was chosen on the basis of relevance to the topics covered in this article.