Abstract
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is extremely highly prevalent both in Russia and in the world. Ischemic stroke is a severe complication of AF often resulting in disability or death. Therefore important role is given to conduct of primary and secondary prevention of development of thromboembolic complications which is realized by means of administration of antithrombotic therapy. For a long time warfarin has been used for this purpose. However compliance of physicians to its prescription remains unsatisfactory. Recently novel oral anticoagulants (NOAC) have been elaborated. Among them dabigatran has longest period of use and has been recommended as the drug of choice for patients with non-valvular AF. At present time wide use of dabigatran is limited because of lack of clear understanding of some practical questions of the use of this drug. Aim of this review--to analyze available data on efficacy and safety of dabigatran, to study special features of its administration in various clinical situations.
