For most people with atrial fibrillation, blood thinners lower the risk of stroke. However, blood thinners (also called anticoagulants) can cause bleeding. Some people with a very high risk might consider a procedure called left atrial appendage closure that places a device in the heart to prevent strokes.
If you have atrial fibrillation, use this Stroke and Bleeding Risk Calculator together with the decision aids below to help you decide with your care team what treatment is right for you.
Use this decision aid to decide between treatment with blood thinners (warfarin or DOACs) or a left atrial appendage closure device.