Highlights
- •Cardioembolic stroke due to AF/RHD is characterized with high frequency of HT.
- •We studied the association between LA and HT in cardioembolic stroke due to AF/RHD.
- •Moderate to severe LA is associated with HT in cardioembolic stroke due to AF/RHD.
- •The presence of periventricular or anterior LA on MRI increases the risk of HT.
Abstract
Cardioembolic stroke due to atrial fibrillation (AF) and/or rheumatic heart disease
(RHD) often involves hemorrhagic transformation (HT), and we examined whether leukoaraiosis
(LA) was associated with HT in these cases. We prospectively enrolled 251 patients
who were admitted to two hospitals within one month of experiencing cardioembolic
stroke due to AF/RHD. LA severity was assessed using three visual rating scales. HT
was identified in 99 patients (39.4%) based on baseline computed tomography (CT) and
post-admission magnetic resonance imaging or second CT. Univariate analysis identified
risk of HT as higher in the presence of frontal LA based on the age-related white
matter changes scale and in the presence of anterior LA based on the VSS scale. Multivariate
analysis confirmed that moderate to severe LA was independently associated with higher
HT risk. Of the various sites affected in LA, frontal LA correlated with highest risk
of HT (OR 3.199, 95%CI 1.555–6.580). These results suggest that moderate to severe
LA, especially at periventricular and anterior sites, is associated with HT after
cardioembolic stroke due to AF/RHD. These findings suggest the need to take LA into
account as a HT risk factor when considering the use of anticoagulation and thrombolysis
in these patients.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 02, 2017
Accepted:
May 1,
2017
Received in revised form:
April 19,
2017
Received:
December 16,
2016
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.