The hemorrhagic risk: how to evaluate it.

This issue addresses the evaluation of hemorrhagic risk during antithrombotic treatment in atrial fibrillation patients. It illustrates the relevance of bleeding complications in the management of anticoagulation therapy and demonstrates the size of the problem among patients taking old and novel oral anticoagulant drugs. A survey of the main factors affecting the bleeding risk with pertinent supporting evidence is performed. Finally the paper discusses how to estimate the individual bleeding risk focusing on the HAS-BLED score, whose use is recommended by international guidelines.