Because the risk of stent thrombosis falls signi cantly after 30 days with bare-metal stents and 3 to 6 months after drug-eluting stents, triple therapy should be continued only dur- ing this high-risk period and only among patients at higher risk of stroke. After the initial period of triple therapy, patients may be given VKA therapy plus a single antiplatelet drug until 12 months have elapsed from the time of stent placement (particu- larly if stent placement was performed in the setting of a recent ACS [see section 3.3] or if a drug-eluting stent was used). It should be noted that patients with AF who have received a drug-eluting stent and who are at increased risk of late stent thrombosis (eg, ACS at presenta- tion, diabetes, long lesions, narrow diameter of tar- get vessel)123 may choose to continue triple therapy for a full 12 months after stent placement if they place a low value on avoiding bleeding. At 12 months after stent placement, antithrombotic therapy can be given according to our recommendations for AF and stable coronary artery disease (section 3.1). Recommendation 3.2. For patients with AF at high risk of stroke (eg, CHADS2 score of 2 or greater) during the rst month after placement of a bare-metal stent or the rst 3 to 6 months after placement of a drug-eluting stent, we suggest triple therapy (eg, VKA therapy, aspirin, and clopidogrel) rather than dual antiplatelet therapy (eg, aspi- rin and clopidogrel) (Grade 2C). After this initial period of triple therapy, we suggest a VKA (INR 2.0-3.0) plus a single antiplatelet drug rather than VKA alone (Grade 2C). At 12 months after intracoronary stent placement, antithrombotic therapy is suggested as for patients with AF and stable coronary artery disease (see section 3.1). 