Unexpected low prevalence of atrial fibrillation in cryptogenic ischemic stroke: a prospective study.
J Interv Card Electrophysiol
; 28(2): 101-7, 2010 Aug.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-20454840
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
Ischemic stroke is a frequent pathology with high rate of recurrence and significant morbidity and mortality. There are several causes of stroke, affecting prognosis, outcomes, and management, but in many cases, the etiology remains undetermined. We hypothesized that atrial fibrillation was involved in this pathology but underdiagnosed by standard methods. The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of atrial fibrillation in cryptogenic ischemic stroke by using continuous monitoring of the heart rate over several months. The secondary objective was to test the value of atrial vulnerability assessment in predicting spontaneous atrial fibrillation. METHODS ANDRESULTS:
We prospectively enrolled 24 patients under 75 years of age, 15 men and 9 women of mean age 49 years, who within the last 4 months had experienced cryptogenic stroke diagnosed by clinical presentation and brain imaging and presumed to be of cardioembolic mechanism. All causes of stroke were excluded by normal 12-lead ECG, 24-h Holter monitoring, echocardiography, cervical Doppler, hematological, and inflammatory tests. All patients underwent electrophysiological study. Of the patients, 37.5% had latent atrial vulnerability, and 33.3% had inducible sustained arrhythmia. Patients were secondarily implanted with an implantable loop recorder to look for spontaneous atrial fibrillation over a mean follow-up interval of 14.5 months. No sustained arrhythmia was found. Only one patient had non-significant episodes of atrial fibrillation.CONCLUSION:
In this study, symptomatic atrial fibrillation or AF with fast ventricular rate has not been demonstrated by the implantable loop recorder in patients under 75 years with unexplained cerebral ischemia. The use of this device should not be generalized in the systematic evaluation of these patients. In addition, this study attests that the assessment of atrial vulnerability is poor at predicting spontaneous arrhythmia in such patients.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Fibrilação Atrial
/
Isquemia Encefálica
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
/
Incidence_studies
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Observational_studies
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Prevalence_studies
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Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adolescent
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Adult
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Aged
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Female
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Humans
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Male
/
Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Interv Card Electrophysiol
Assunto da revista:
CARDIOLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2010
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
França