Abstract
BACKGROUND: Our knowledge of the presence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in young stroke patients is scarce. Our objective was to analyze the frequency of AF in ischemic stroke (IS) patients up to 50 years of age and its relationship with stroke severity and outcomes. METHODS: Prospective observational study of consecutive IS patients up to 50 years of age admitted to a stroke center during a five-year period (2007-2011). A complete cardiology study was performed with daily electrocardiogram (ECG) and cardiac monitoring for 72 hours as well as echocardiography. In cases of stroke of unknown etiology, a 24-hour Holter monitoring was performed, which was repeated as necessary. We analyzed baseline data, previously or newly diagnosed AF, structural heart disease (SHD) (valvulopathy/cardiomyopathy), stroke severity on admission measured by the NIHSS (moderate-severe stroke if NIHSS≥5) and 3-month outcomes according to the mRS (good outcome if mRS ≤2). AF was classified as AF associated with SHD (AF-SHD) and AF not associated with SHD (AF-NSHD). RESULTS: One hundred fifty-seven patients were included (mean age 41.1 years, 58.6% male). Sixteen subjects (10.2%) presented AF, 5 with AF-NSHD and 11 with AF-SHD. AF was previously known in 10 patients (6.4%), 2 with AF-NSHD and 8 with AF-SHD. A multivariate analysis showed an independent association between AF and moderate-severe IS (OR 3.882, 95%CI: 1.277-11.799), but AF was not an independent prognostic factor. CONCLUSION: AF is present in up to 10% of young patients with IS and is associated with increased NIHSS scores.
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