Longer duration of electrocardiographic monitoring after cryptogenic stroke is associated with a greater detection of AF .
BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation ( AF ) is a major cause of stroke .
Although st and ard investigations after an event include electrocardiographic monitoring , the optimal duration to detect AF is unclear .
We performed a systematic review and meta- analysis to determine whether the duration of electrocardiographic monitoring after an ischemic event is related to the detection of AF .
Predictors of newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in cryptogenic stroke: a cohort study.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE A significant proportion of cryptogenic ischaemic strokes are due to paroxysmal atrial fibrillation ( AF ) . As paroxysmal AF appears to inexorably progress to persistent or permanent AF , this study with long-term follow-up was design ed to establish the profile of patients who developed AF after hospital discharge . METHODS All patients with cryptogenic ischaemic stroke over a 1-year period were included ( n = 164 ) . Patients were prospect ively followed up at the outpatient clinic . Information on long-term outcome included the presence of newly diagnosed AF ( NDAF ) . A specific NDAF assessment was performed at least 2 years after the index stroke using a structured telephone interview .  Baseline clinical , laboratory , and echocardiographic data of these patients were retrospectively recorded . Independent predictive factors were then used to produce a predictive grading score for NDAF , derived by logistic regression analysis . RESULTS With a median follow-up of 854 days , 22 cases of NDAF ( 13 % ) were observed . On multivariate analysis , factors associated with NDAF were age ≥72 years ( two points ) , history of coronary artery disease ( one point ) or stroke ( one point ) , and left atrial area ≥16 cm(2 ) ( two points ) ( total score ranging from 0 to 6 ) . Patients with a score ≤1 point did not have NDAF during follow-up . CONCLUSIONS In cryptogenic ischaemic stroke , the NDAF score can be used to target patients at high risk of developing AF after hospital discharge , as a score of 0 - 1 was highly predictive of the absence of NDAF during follow-up . These results need to be confirmed in prospect i ve studies
Longer duration of electrocardiographic monitoring after cryptogenic stroke is associated with a greater detection of AF .
BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation ( AF ) is a major cause of stroke .
Although st and ard investigations after an event include electrocardiographic monitoring , the optimal duration to detect AF is unclear .
We performed a systematic review and meta- analysis to determine whether the duration of electrocardiographic monitoring after an ischemic event is related to the detection of AF .