Abstract WMP64: Utility of Left Atrial Abnormality on Admission Electrocardiography in Acute Ischemic Stroke

Abstract

Introduction and Hypothesis: Clinical categorization of ischemic stroke is very important to select the antithrombotic therapy for preventing the recurrent stokes. However, about 25% of ischemic stroke is the stroke for undetermined cause, termed as cryptogenic stroke. Recently, proactive detecting of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) in cryptogenic stroke has gained attention. P-wave terminal force in lead V1 (PTFV1) of electrocardiography (ECG) is a specific indicator of left atrial abnormality. In this study, we tested PTFV1 for the utility of PAF detection and further clinical categorization in acute ischemic stroke. Methods: One hundred forty eight consecutive acute ischemic stroke patients were admitted to our hospital from September 2014 to March 2016. We included 105 patients (mean age 72.8±13.4 years), who had sinus rhythm on admission 12-lead ECG without atrial fibrillation, or cardiac pacing. PTFV1 (mmхsec) of participants was assessed, and had analyzed the association with PAF detection in a 24-hour ECG monitoring and clinical categories of ischemic stroke. Results: PTFV1 was significantly higher in the patients with PAF (n=11) than in those without PAF (0.049±0.024 vs 0.031±0.027; p<0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that PTFV1 was an independent predictor for PAF detection (odds ratio, 1.46; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-2.08; p<0.05). According to the clinical categorization, PTFV1 of cardioembolic stroke (0.061±0.022) was significantly higher, compared to lacunar stroke (0.018±0.019; p<0.01), atherothrombotic stroke (0.035±0.026; p<0.05), and cryptogenic stroke (0.031±0.029; p<0.05). The proportion of patients with left atrial abnormality defined by PTFV1 (≧0.04), was 10 out of 11 (91%) for cardioembolic stroke, and 10 out of 27 (37%) for cryptogenic stroke. Conclusions: PTFV1 on admission ECG in acute ischemic stroke was a strong predictor for PAF detection and cardioembolic stroke diagnosis. Extended ECG monitoring may be useful in cryptogenic stroke with left atrial abnormality defined by PTFV1.