Estimating Risk of Stroke in Atrial Fibrillation

Abstract This chapter appraises the CHADS2 trial, which develops a risk stratification tool to estimate stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The CHADS2 score assigns points based on factors like heart failure, hypertension, age, diabetes, and prior stroke. The CHADS2 trial demonstrated that higher CHADS2 scores correlate with increased stroke rates and demonstrates that CHADS2 is more accurate than previous indices in predicting stroke risk. It highlights the tool’s convenience but acknowledges limitations, such as excluding other significant risk factors like frailty and AF burden. Finally, the chapter explains the importance of CHADS2 and the updated CHA2DS2-VASc indices in guiding anticoagulation therapy and enabling personalized management of AF patients.