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Recent(within 3 months)congestive heart failure,a history of hypertension, and previous arterial thromboembolism were each significantly and independently associated with a substantial risk for thromboembolism(>7% per year;P=0.05).The presence of these three independent clinical predictors(recent congestive heart failure,history of hypertension, previous thromboembolism)defined patients with rates of thromboembolism of 2.5%per year(no risk factors),7.2%per year(one risk factor),and 17.6%per year(two or three risk factors).Nondiabetic patients without these risk factors,comprising 38%of the cohort,had a low risk for thromboembolism(1. 4%per year;95%CI,0.05%to 3.7%).Patients without clinical risk factors who were under 60 years of age had no thromboembolic events.Patients with atrial fibrillation at high risk(>7%per year)and low risk(<3%per year)for thromboembolism can be identified by readily available clinical variables. |
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