The addition of blood tests for two biomarkers improves the accuracy of a test used to decide whether people with an irregular heartbeat, known as atrial fibrillation, need to take anticoagulant medication to reduce their risk for stroke.

“Stroke risk scores, such as the guideline-recommended CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score, are widely used to assist decision making for anticoagulation in atrial fibrillation,” write lead author Mary Cushman, MD, a professor at the University of Vermont, and colleagues in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis .

“While this approach has transformed clinical practice, the decision to recommend anticoagulation to patients with atrial fibrillation remains difficult as current risk tools have substantial limitations.”

The researchers set out to discover if

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