TY - JOUR
T1 - Diagnostic and prognostic value of left atrial function in identification of cardioembolism and prediction of outcomes in patients with cryptogenic stroke
AU - Bhat, Aditya
AU - Chen, Henry H. L.
AU - Khanna, Shaun
AU - Mahajan, Vipul
AU - Gupta, Arnav
AU - Burdusel, Camelia
AU - Wolfe, Nigel
AU - Lee, Lina
AU - Gan, Gary C. H.
AU - Dobbins, Timothy
AU - MacIntyre, C. Raina
AU - Tan, Timothy C.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Background: Stroke of undetermined source, commonly termed cryptogenic stroke (CS), accounts for a significant proportion of ischemic stroke etiology and have high rates of stroke recurrence. The heterogeneous etiology of CS makes decisions regarding treatment for such patients challenging. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of left atrial (LA) function in the identification of cardioembolism and prediction of outcomes in patients with CS. Methods: Consecutive patients admitted to a tertiary institution with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) who underwent transthoracic echocardiography were recruited, with comprehensive evaluation of LA metrics including LA strain. Ischemic strokes and TIAs were classified as noncardioembolic, cryptogenic, or cardioembolic. A total of 709 patients (mean age, 66.0 ± 15.1 years; 55% men) were recruited. Two hundred ninety-one patients had CS, 189 had noncardioembolic stroke, and 229 had cardioembolic stroke. Patients with CS were followed for 20.0 ± 13.8 months for recurrent ischemic stroke or TIA. Results: Receiver operating characteristic curves showed LA reservoir and contractile strain to be strong discriminators of cardioembolic strokes, and log-rank tests showed both measures to be significantly associated with the distribution of time to recurrent ischemic stroke or TIA in patients with CS. Multivariable hazard models showed LA reservoir and contractile strain to be independent predictors of recurrent ischemic stroke or TIA in patients with CS, in addition to estimated glomerular filtration rate and active smoking. Conclusions: LA reservoir and contractile strain were strong discriminators of cardioembolic stroke and independently predicted recurrent ischemic stroke or TIA in patients with CS. Use of LA strain may improve risk stratification and decision-making in patients with CS, with particular regard to prolonged ambulatory heart rhythm monitoring and/or empiric anticoagulation.
AB - Background: Stroke of undetermined source, commonly termed cryptogenic stroke (CS), accounts for a significant proportion of ischemic stroke etiology and have high rates of stroke recurrence. The heterogeneous etiology of CS makes decisions regarding treatment for such patients challenging. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of left atrial (LA) function in the identification of cardioembolism and prediction of outcomes in patients with CS. Methods: Consecutive patients admitted to a tertiary institution with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) who underwent transthoracic echocardiography were recruited, with comprehensive evaluation of LA metrics including LA strain. Ischemic strokes and TIAs were classified as noncardioembolic, cryptogenic, or cardioembolic. A total of 709 patients (mean age, 66.0 ± 15.1 years; 55% men) were recruited. Two hundred ninety-one patients had CS, 189 had noncardioembolic stroke, and 229 had cardioembolic stroke. Patients with CS were followed for 20.0 ± 13.8 months for recurrent ischemic stroke or TIA. Results: Receiver operating characteristic curves showed LA reservoir and contractile strain to be strong discriminators of cardioembolic strokes, and log-rank tests showed both measures to be significantly associated with the distribution of time to recurrent ischemic stroke or TIA in patients with CS. Multivariable hazard models showed LA reservoir and contractile strain to be independent predictors of recurrent ischemic stroke or TIA in patients with CS, in addition to estimated glomerular filtration rate and active smoking. Conclusions: LA reservoir and contractile strain were strong discriminators of cardioembolic stroke and independently predicted recurrent ischemic stroke or TIA in patients with CS. Use of LA strain may improve risk stratification and decision-making in patients with CS, with particular regard to prolonged ambulatory heart rhythm monitoring and/or empiric anticoagulation.
UR - https://hdl.handle.net/1959.7/uws:77524
U2 - 10.1016/j.echo.2022.05.018
DO - 10.1016/j.echo.2022.05.018
M3 - Article
SN - 0894-7317
VL - 35
SP - 1064
EP - 1076
JO - Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography
JF - Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography
IS - 10
ER -
