Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Atrial fibrillation is a heart condition that increases the chance of stroke in the elderly, and this can be prevented through anticoagulation, or blood-thinning. Too much blood-thinning, however, can lead to bleeding and death. Recent approval of 4 new blood thinners have increased the options we have to treat people who have atrial fibrillation. Until recently, however, there is no approved antidote to reverse the effect of these drugs in hospital once bleeding begins. Therefore, we wanted to find out the current types of treatment for elderly patients who present to five major hospitals in Ontario with bleeds from new blood-thinners and warfarin, and whether outcomes after treatment are different between these two groups of patients.