Are stroke patients at a higher risk of atrial fibrillation?

This study aimed to find out if there was a group of risk factors that could predict whether stroke patients were at risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF). The study concluded that stroke patients with heart failure, vascular disease, hypertension and age above 75 years old were at a higher risk of developing AF.

AF is a common heart problem where the rhythm of the heart is irregular. AF can increase the risk of ischemic stroke. Ischemic stroke (IS) can happen when a blocked blood vessel stops blood flow to the brain. Because AF often does not have any symptoms, it can often go undiagnosed. It would be beneficial to have methods of predicting AF in stroke patients.

This study explored whether there were common factors in stroke patients diagnosed with AF.

The records of 65807 stroke patients were included in this analysis. 48992 of these patients had no previous diagnosis of AF. Other health problems, including heart failure, high blood pressure, old age, diabetes, vascular disease and previous stroke, were recorded. Rates of AF were recorded over an average of 15 months.

AF was diagnosed in 10% of patients during the follow-up period. AF occured in approximately 12% of patients who had other health problems. Heart failure, high blood pressure, vascular disease, and age over 65 were predictors of AF.

This study concluded that ischemic stroke is linked to an increased risk of artrial fibrillation, especially in patients with heart failure, vascular disease, hypertension and those above the age of 65.