New oral anticoagulant drugs in cardiovascular disease

Abstract

Oral anticoagulation has been limited to vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) for over 60 years. VKAs are effective and recommended for the prevention of venous and arterial thromboembolism in cardiovascular disease, but their pharmacodynamics are difficult to predict and the highly variable interindividual and intraindividual response to treatment accounts for the need of continuous monitoring. This prompted the intensive exploration of numerous substances within the last decade in an attempt to meet the shortcomings of current oral anticoagulation with VKAs. The development and clinical investigation of two novel groups of oral anticoagulants targeting central factors of the coagulation system eit..