Blood clots can be formed by clotting proteins (coagulation factors) and sticky blood cells (platelets). Blood clots in the lungs, legs and brain lead to disability and death. Blood thinners - namely anticoagulants such as warfarin can prevent clot formation by blocking the clotting proteins. Antiplatelets such as aspirin are also blood thinners and they can also reduce clotting by blocking the platelets. Warfarin is known to be better than aspirin in patients with heart failure who have abnormal heart rhythm i.e. atrial fibrillation. Aspirin is known to be helpful in patients with heart failure and normal sinus rhythm, whose heart arteries are narrowed - this condition is a common cause of heart failure and thus doctors often advise patients with normal rhythm to take aspirin.

We are seeking consumer input on an updated Cochrane Review that aimed to find out the appropriateness of oral anticoagulants in heart failure with sinus rhythm. This is an updated version of a previous published review: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003333.pub3/full.

Cochrane considers a consumer, in this case, to be someone who has used blood thinners for heart failure management, or someone who knows a family member/friend with heart failure and has experience using blood thinners. For consumer peer review, we will ask you to complete a short form with your feedback to ensure the review is accessible and relevant so that it will be helpful to patients and their carers/families. You are welcome to provide feedback on any aspect of the review, or you can focus your attention on the sections you feel are most relevant to consumers and stakeholders, such as Abstract, Plain Language Summary, and Conclusions. Our aim is for this to be a manageable task, that does not overburden consumer reviewers.

Thank you in advance for considering!