Educational and behavioural interventions to increase the time in the therapeutic range for patients with atrial fibrillation on anticoagulant therapy

Cochrane Summaries – 6/4/13

Atrial fibrillation is a chronic condition that is characterised by an irregular heart beat. This irregularity of the heart rhythm places people with atrial fibrillation at greater risk of forming blood clots and subsequently increases their risk of stroke. The most common treatment for reducing the risk of stroke is medication with oral drugs that ‘thin’ the blood, known as oral anticoagulants, to reduce the risk of blood clots forming. People taking warfarin are regularly monitored to assess the time it takes for their blood to clot, known as the International Normalised Ratio (INR), to ensure that the INR is within the target therapeutic range of 2.0 to 3.0. This narrow therapeutic range is often difficult to achieve due to the many factors that can affect INR control such as alcohol intake, other medications, and food intake.

Educational and behavioural interventions may play an important role in improving the ability of people with atrial fibrillation to maintain their INR control, by increasing their knowledge and understanding about warfarin and atrial fibrillation. The objectives of this review were to assess the effects of educational and behavioural interventions for people with atrial fibrillation who were on warfarin to maintain a therapeutic INR range. Read More