Patients with atrial fibrillation who have had an ischemic stroke should be implanted with a heart monitor to prevent recurrence. The research was published in the journal JAMA Neurology.
Atrial fibrillation, an irregular and rapid heartbeat, increases the likelihood of ischemic stroke fivefold in patients with other risk factors. An ischemic stroke occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery that carries blood to the brain.
Nearly 500 ischemic stroke patients from 33 U.S. hospitals participated in the study. During a three-year observation, atrial fibrillation was detected in 21.7% of patients who were fitted with a heart monitor and in 2.4% of patients in the control group whose heart rhythm was checked at a doctor’s appointment. At the same time, many people were diagnosed with arrhythmia not in the first year after a stroke, but in subsequent years.
The authors concluded that negative one-year follow-up should not reassure doctors that stroke patients will not develop arrhythmias within the next two years. The results may also mean that implanted heart monitors are more effective at detecting arrhythmias. They could potentially lead to better protection from stroke, but this finding needs to be tested in larger studies.
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Source: Gazeta
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