What is the risk of intracranial hemorrhage with antithrombotic therapy in AF patients?
Antithrombotic therapy (including anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents) can increase the risk of intracranial hemorrhage in AF patients. Spontaneous (nontraumatic) intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) causes about 1 in 10 strokes, and is caused by the rupture of a cerebral artery or arteriole, most often a small vessel affected by either hypertensive arteriopathy or cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). ICH is the most feared, often lethal, complication of antithrombotic therapy.