Correlation between CHADS2 score and anticoagulant use in atrial fibrillation: Results of a mini-survey.

Quality assurance in atrial fibrillation is related to the appropriate use of anticoagulation. The CHADS2 score is widely used to determine which patients should or should not be anticoagulated. The authors hypothesized that as thromboembolic risk and, therefore, the CHADS2 score increases, so should the rate of anticoagulant prescription. The authors found a positive correlation between CHADS2 score and anticoagulant prescription (r=0.8) in a mini-survey. Although anticoagulant use at CHADS2 score = 0 was presumed to be very low, it was found to be higher than expected. This was readily explained by a group of low-risk patients being anticoagulated before cardioversion. Cardioverted patients were then examined as a group and it was found that the rate of rhythm control decreased with CHADS2 score (r= -0.89), a finding that has not been reported in the literature and may warrant further investigation.