The family nurse practitioner role in improving health care for the person over 70 years of age with chronic nonvalvular atrial fibrillation: the exploration of anticoagulation therapy

The purpose of this project was to answer the question: Is the administration of warfarin the best practice for prevention of stroke in the person who is over the age of 70 years, who has nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF), and who is at high risk for having a stroke? A comprehensive literature review was conducted to help answer the primary research question. The findings of this review demonstrated that the administration of warfarin therapy was the best practice for the prevention of strokes in high-risk populations. The literature presented in this project further identified that although research findings support the use of warfarin therapy as best practice for prevention of strokes in the high-risk population, warfarin therapy was highly underutilized in general practice or has been managed subtherapeutically. Eight factors that may have affected the prescribing practices or suboptimal use of warfarin therapy by the health care practitioners were discussed. The project also explored how nurse practitioners can offer solutions for optimizing warfarin therapy in NVAF patients and concluded with recommendations for how nurse practitioners may help optimize treatment for patients with NVAF. --P.2.