OS 27-02 CEREBRAL MICROBLEEDS AND ASYMPTOMATIC CEREBRAL INFARCTIONS IN PATIENTS WITH ATRIAL FIBRILLATION

Abstract

Objective: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a cardiac arrhythmia that does not infrequently induce ischemic strokes; however, little research has been reported on focal cerebral microangiopathic lesions in patients with AF. Recently cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) have been noticed for their potential implication in cerebral small vessel dis- ease. Therefore, we had 2 goals in the present study: (1) to compare the prevalence of CMBs in patients with AF with that in patients without AF, and (2) to prove that CMBs could be a clinical predictive factor for the development of future cerebral microangiopathy in patients with AF without a history of symptomatic cerebral infarction in a prospective manner. Design and Method: We performed yearly brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessments for a maximum of 5 years in 131 patients with AF and 112 control patients. Seventy seven patients with AF underwent more than 3 yearly MRI scans. Results: The Kaplan–Meier curve showed that the development of an asymptomatic cerebral infarction (ACI) was associated with the baseline presence of a CMB (P 5 .004). A multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the CMBs at baseline were significantly associated with an increment in not only the occurrence of ACIs (hazard ratio [HR], 5.414; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-28.43; P 5 .046) but also in the consecutive development of CMBs (HR, 6.274; 95% CI, 1.43-27.56; P 5 .015). Conclusions: Patients with AF had a significantly higher prevalence of CMBs. The presence of CMBs in the baseline MRI may predict the consequent onset of an ACI and increase in CMBs in patients with AF.