. 2017 Jun 8;30(2):122–139. doi: 10.1016/j.jsha.2017.05.001

Table 1.

Advantages and limitations of vitamin K antagonist (VKA) therapy.

Advantages	Limitations^a
Proven efficacy for stroke prevention	Risk of bleeding complications
Historical standard of care	Routine monitoring required
Long half-life, once-daily dosing	Dose adjustments frequently needed
	Slow onset of action
	Narrow therapeutic window
	Dietary restrictions
	Numerous drug interactions
	Variability in patient response

Note. From “New oral Xa and IIa inhibitors: updates and clinical trial results,” by S. Haas, 2008, J Thromb Thrombolysis, 25, p. 52–60. Copyright 2007, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. Adapted with permission.

Some of the listed disadvantages may exist with other oral anticoagulants.