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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Getting the latest healthcare news for you
The first-ever randomized trial on anticoagulation in intermediate-risk AFib patients shows real benefit. The SINGLE-AF trial found that DOACs reduced the combined risk of stroke, embolism, major bleeding, and cardiovascular death by 69% compared to no treatment — without raising bleeding risk. This could reshape guidelines and expand treatment access for a long-underserved patient group.
For years, guidelines have given a lukewarm "consider it" recommendation for anticoagulation in atrial fibrillation patients with intermediate stroke risk — but that guidance was built on shaky observational data. Now, the SINGLE-AF trial has delivered the first randomized controlled trial evidence to settle the debate, and the results are clear: blood thinners help.
Presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine, the trial enrolled 1,803 AFib patients in South Korea with a CHA₂DS₂-VASc score of 1 (men) or 2 (women). Patients were randomized to a DOAC (apixaban or rivaroxaban) or no anticoagulation and followed for 24 months.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: This trial fills a critical evidence gap, potentially upgrading guideline recommendations from "consider" to "recommend" for this patient population — and could expand insurance reimbursement for millions of intermediate-risk AFib patients worldwide.
