When people think of stroke, the one that comes to mind most often is high blood pressure. There is another disease that causes strokes that catch patients unawares and are more dangerous: atrial fibrillation (AF for short). So, do you know about atrial fibrillation? Why do patients with atrial fibrillation need to take anticoagulants all the time? 1.What is atrial fibrillation Atrial fibrillation, referred to as atrial fibrillation, is a common arrhythmia, due to the loss of the normal rhythm of the atria, usually manifested as irregular and rapid heart rate, atrial fibrillation not only affects the quality of life of patients, serious cases can also occur thromboembolism, heart failure and other complications, the most serious complication is a stroke. The common causes of atrial fibrillation are: rheumatic heart disease, hypertensive heart disease, coronary heart disease, cardiomyopathy, hyperthyroidism, etc. 2, what is the danger of atrial fibrillation, why atrial fibrillation to take anticoagulants Atrial fibrillation when the atria will lose its original contraction function, blood in the atria is easy because of stagnation, and in the left atrium there is a structure called the left heart ear, where the slowed blood flow is easy to form thrombus, and the formation of thrombus, once the thrombus off can be accompanied by blood to all parts of the body, the most dangerous is easy to occur brain infarction. Atrial fibrillation does not necessarily lead directly to the death of the patient, what kills patients with atrial fibrillation is often cerebral infarction. Talking about stroke will not be unfamiliar to everyone, the lighter ones have weak arms and legs and are partially paralyzed; the heavier ones have severe ischemia and oxygen deprivation in the brain and become vegetative. For those who do not die, follow-up rehabilitation is a time-consuming and difficult process. Not only does the patient’s quality of life suffer greatly, but it also places a considerable burden on the patient’s family. The main goals of atrial fibrillation treatment are to control the rapid ventricular rate and to prevent thrombosis and stroke prevention. Among them, prevention of thrombosis and stroke prevention requires anticoagulant drugs. 3, what are the anticoagulants and how to take them Stroke prevention is crucial for patients with atrial fibrillation, and the basic treatment for stroke prevention is anticoagulation. Although the traditional anticoagulant warfarin is cost-effective, it has a narrow treatment window and other inconveniences. In recent years, new oral anticoagulants such as direct thrombin inhibitors (e.g., dabigatran et al.) and factor X inhibitors (e.g., rivaroxaban et al.) have been introduced, and they are highly favored by clinicians and patients because of their stable drug blood levels, wide therapeutic window, less susceptibility to food-drug interactions, and significantly reduced risk of fatal hemorrhage. In conclusion, we should understand that the use of anticoagulant drugs for atrial fibrillation is not for the correction of arrhythmias, but for the prevention of thrombosis. Patients with atrial fibrillation can effectively reduce the stroke rate and reduce the impact of atrial fibrillation on patients’ quality of life by simply adhering to the regular use of anticoagulants.