Malaysia the first Asian country to use stroke medication Read more: Malaysia the first Asian country to use stroke medication

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has approved the use of rivaroxaban, a once-daily oral anticoagulant for reduction of stroke-risk in patients with sustained irregular heart rhythm.
Malaysia has become the first country in Asia and the third in the world to approve rivaroxaban for this purpose, said Dr Axel Bouchon, General Manager for Bayer HealthCare in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
He said National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau of the Ministry of Health Malaysia gave the approval recently, shortly after approvals by the United States and Ukraine.
In a statement here today, Bouchon said the US-FDA recommends rivaroxaban for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF).
"AF-related stroke can be prevented with proper diagnosis, treatment and management. With the approval, Malaysian patients who are living with AF can be among the first in the world to benefit from rivaroxaban, which also has potential to help reduce the devastating burden that strokes have on patients and their families," he added.
Datuk Dr Azhari Rosman, consultant cardiologist with the National Heart Institute, said in the same statement that approval of rivaroxaban offers physicians a new option to effectively reduce stroke-risk in patients who are living with atrial fibrillation and the continous threat of strokes.
An estimated 40,000 Malaysians succumb to stroke each year, making it the third largest cause of death in Malaysia, after heart disease and cancer, and also the most common cause of severe disability, the statement said.