Older adults living with both atrial fibrillation and Alzheimer's disease who took newer oral anticoagulants declined more slowly on a standard cognitive test than similar patients on warfarin or on no anticoagulant, according to a nationwide Swedish analysis published in the European Heart Journal.
The difference was small in any single year. The annual decline on the Mini-Mental State Examination was about 0.23 points lower with these drugs than with no anticoagulation, and roughly 0.21 points lower than with warfarin, on a test scored out of 30. Researchers say the gap could become clinically meaningful if it accumulates over several years.
