Nearly one-third of patients with stroke of unknown cause have heart rhythm disorder that can be treated to prevent another stroke, says a Nordic Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke study
The study presented at the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) 2022 Scientific Congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) was posted on ESC website on Monday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the EHRA congress is underway from April 3 to April 5 at the Bella Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark and online.
The Nordic Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke (NOR-FIB) study examined the ability of continuous heart rhythm monitoring for one year with an implanted device to identify atrial fibrillation in patients with an ischaemic stroke or mini-stroke (transient ischaemic attack; TIA) of unknown aetiology.
The study author, Dr Barbara Ratajczak-Tretel of Østfold Hospital Trust, Sarpsborg, Norway, said that more than 90 per cent of stroke patients found to have atrial fibrillation had no symptoms of the heart rhythm disorder.
“For many patients, atrial fibrillation would have gone undiagnosed and untreated without continuous monitoring, putting them at risk of another stroke,” she said.
Ratajczak-Tretel said that most strokes are ischaemic, meaning a blockage stops blood flow to the brain.
According to her, the cause of one in four ischaemic strokes is undetermined.
“The best therapy to prevent another stroke depends on the underlying cause.
“Those with atrial fibrillation should receive oral anticoagulants but a definitive diagnosis is needed before these drugs can be prescribed. Atrial fibrillation can be transient and asymptomatic making it difficult to detect,” she said.
She said that the observational study included 259 patients with no documented history of atrial fibrillation from 18 centres in Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
She said all patients received a cardiac monitor, which was implanted a median of nine days after the stroke or TIA.