The Atrium and Embolic Stroke: Myopathy Not Atrial Fibrillation as the Requisite Determinant?

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is well-recognized in the pathophysiology of left atrial thrombogenesis and resultant cardioembolic stroke. Subclinical AF is believed to account for a significant proportion of embolic stroke. However, recent randomized control trials failed to demonstrate a significant benefit for oral anticoagulation, in an unselected population with embolic stroke of undetermined source. This has reinvigorated the focus on finding robust markers to identify patients at risk of cardioembolic stroke. Several nonfibrillatory atrial electrical markers, along with structural and biochemical abnormalities, have been associated with ischemic stroke, independently of AF. An increasingly ..