Abstract

Background & Purpose: Atrial fibrillation (AF) and large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) can be associated with a bad outcome even in minor stroke. We investigated stroke recurrence and outcome in Japanese minor stroke patients with AF and/or LAA. Subjects & Methods: Among the consecutive 6246 stroke patients who were admitted to the 7 stroke centers within 7 days after the onset, 3725 patients with acute ischemic stroke with the initial NIH stroke scale score of 7 or less and prior modified Rankin scale (mRS) of 0 or 1 were included in the present study. In accordance with AF and intracranial or extracranial LAA (stenosis of 50% or more in diameter), they were classified into 4 subgroups: patients without both AF and LAA (Group A, n=2154), patients with only AF (Group B, n=475), patients with only LAA (Group C, n=937), and patients with both AF and LAA (Group D, n=159). We observed stroke recurrence and outcome during one year. Results: On the multivariate analysis, age (OR, 0.94; 95%CI 0.93~0.95), initial NIH stroke scale score (OR, 0.70; 95%CI, 0.67~0.74), chronic kidney disease (OR, 0.72; 95%CI, 0.55~0.95), initial HbA1c value (OR 0.87, 95%CI 0.79~0.95), and LAA (OR 0.70, 95%CI 0.55~0.88) had a negative association with a good outcome. Acute stroke recurrences within 3 weeks after the onset were observed in 2.0%, 2.5%, 6.1%, and 9.4% in Group A-D patients respectively (p<0.0001). Stroke recurrences during 1 year were observed 7.0%, 10.7%, 11.6%, and 13.8% in Group A-D patients respectively (p<0.0001). A good outcome (mRS of 0-1) 1 year after the onset was observed in 77.0%, 6.4%, 67.9%, and 65.8% in Group A-D patients respectively (p<0.0001). With regard to the Kaplan-Meier method, there was a significant difference in stroke recurrence among the 4 subgroups, and stroke recurrences were most frequent in Group D (p<0.0001, Log-rank test). Conclusions: In Japanese minor stroke, age, NIH stroke scale score, chronic kidney disease, HbA1c, and LAA were significant predictors for the long-term outcome. In patients with both AF and LAA, stroke recurrences were most frequent, especially in the acute phase, and a long-term good outcome was least frequent consequently.

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