Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most commonly encountered arrhythmia in clinical practice and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality [1]. Currently, it is estimated that between 2 and 4% of adults have AF [2]. AF increases the risk of ischaemic stroke five-fold [3] due to cardiac thromboembolism and in a number of patients admitted with ischaemic stroke, the first diagnosis of AF is at the time of their stroke, due to its subclinical nature [4]. Anticoagulation is indicated for stroke prevention in AF, either with warfarin or a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC), in patients with a score ≥ 1 in men, or ≥ 2 in women [5,6] as calculated by the CHA2DS2-VASc risk assessment tool.
