Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in cryptogenic stroke

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic and risk factors compared across the 5 subgroups of ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack

	LAA	CE	SAD	TIA	CS	P-value
Age	60.59 ± 14.94	65.66 ± 17.33	66.03 ± 14.73	64.89 ± 16.46	58.22 ± 15.94	0.043
Gender	29 (39.2%)	22 (40.7%)	40 (46.0%)	9 (28.1%)	29 (56.9%)	0.102
	Female	Female	Female	Female	Female
	45 (60.8%)	32 (59.3%)	47 (54.0%)	23 (71.9%)	22 (43.1%)
	Male	Male	Male	Male	Male
HTN	40 (54.1%)	29 (53.7%)	49 (56.3%)	18 (56.3%)	18 (35.3%)	0.149
Hyper-lipidemia	42 (56.8%)	27 (50.0%)	42 (48.3%)	16 (50.0%)	24 (47.1%)	0.813
Previous MI	7 (9.5%)	4 (7.4%)	4 (4.6%)	2 (6.3%)	3 (6.0%)	0.805
A-Fib	2 (3.8%)	14 (35.0%)	5 (8.6%)	4 (14.8%)	2 (7.4%)	<0.001
Diabetes	14 (18.9%)	11 (20.4%)	15 (17.2%)	5 (15.6%)	8 (16.0%)	0.965
CAD	9 (12.2%)	10 (18.5%)	9 (10.3%)	7 (21.9%)	7 (15.7%)	0.446

Abbreviations: AF, atrial fibrillation; CAD, coronary artery disease; CE, cardioembolic stroke; CS, cryptogenic stroke; HTN, hypertension; LAA, large artery atherosclerotic stroke; MI, myocardial infarction; SAD, small artery disease; TIA, transient ischemic attack.

Table 3 Comparison of demographics, risk factors, and stroke recurrence in patients with cryptogenic stroke with and without paroxysmal atrial fibrillation

	PAF present	PAF absent	P-value
N	15 (29.4%)	36 (70.6%)
Age	61.53 ± 16.28	56.74 ± 15.85	0.375
Gender	8 (53.3%) Male	14 (38.9%) Male	0.371
	7 (46.7%) Female	22 (61.1%) Female
HTN	6 (40.0%)	12 (33.3%)	0.751
Hyperlipidemia	8 (53.3%)	16 (44.4%)	0.759
Previous MI	1 (6.7%)	2 (5.6%)	1.000
Diabetes	4 (26.7%)	4 (11.1%)	0.213
RIS	5 (33.3%)	0	0.001
CAD	4 (26.7%)	4 (11.1%)	0.213

Note:

* No comparison was made for the number.

Abbreviations: CAD, coronary artery disease; HTN, hypertension; MI, myocardial infarction; PAF, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, RIS, recurrent ischemic stroke.

Table 2 Medication use compared across the 5 subgroups of ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack

	LAA	CE	SAD	TIA	CS	P-value
Antiplatelets	49 (66.2%)	22 (40.7%)	61 (70.1%)	23 (71.9%)	27 (52.9%)	0.003
ASA	25 (33.8%)	19 (35.2%)	26 (29.9%)	13 (40.6%)	17 (33.3%)	0.860
ASA/extended-release dipyridamole	21 (28.4%)	3 (5.6%)	26 (29.9%)	8 (25.0%)	9 (17.6%)	0.008
Clopidogrel	12 (16.2%)	4 (7.4%)	9 (10.3%)	5 (15.6%)	7 (13.7%)	0.565
Warfarin	10 (13.5%)	24 (44.4%)	4 (4.6%)	7 (21.9%)	7 (13.7%)	<0.001
Statins	43 (58.1%)	31 (57.4%)	51 (58.6%)	14 (43.8%)	21 (41.2%)	0.184
ACE-Inhibitors	24 (32.4%)	21 (38.9%)	31 (35.6%)	9 (28.1%)	13 (25.5%)	0.596
Other Anti-HTN	21 (28.4%)	27 (50.0%)	32 (36.8%)	12 (37.5%)	16 (31.4%)	0.138

Abbreviations: ACE, angiotensin-converting enzyme; ASA, aspirin; CE, cardioembolic stroke; CS, cryptogenic stroke; HTN, hypertensives; LAA, large artery atherosclerotic stroke; SAD, small artery disease; TIA, transient ischemic attack.