Washington University in St. Louis (WU)
My collaborators and I have studied adverse events in the atrial fibrillation population. We developed clinical prediction rules for stroke (“CHADS2”) and for bleeding (“HEMORR2HAGES”) in the atrial fibrillation population. We have quantified the costs, risks, and benefits of warfarin therapy and newer anticoagulants. We use pharmacogenetics to improve the safety and effectiveness of warfarin. We have collaborated with geneticists to discover new polymorphisms that predict warfarin sensitivity. We are also studying how physicians should use this genetic information and have developed a non-profit website, www.WarfarinDosing.org. We are using this site to clarify determinants of warfarin dose and to test the hypothesis that clinicians can estimate a safe warfarin dose a priori, rather than by using the current trial-and-error warfarin dosing.