Irregular heart rhythms after a stroke don't predict another one: Study

Atrial fibrillation or irregular heartbeats detected poststroke is not quite the same as the irregular heartbeats already known before a stroke according to a studyWorldwide millions of stroke survivors undergo prolonged cardiac monitoring leading to the discovery of atrial fibrillation in up to 15 million of these patients each yearThe new study published in The Lancet Neurology proposes that atrial fibrillation detected poststroke exhibits distinct characteristicsIt has a lower prevalence of risk factors cardiovascular comorbidities and changes associated with upper chambers of the heart than atrial fibrillation known prior to the strokeThis could potentially explain its association with a decreased risk of another ischemic stroke which results from a blocked artery said the team professor Dr Luciano Sposato from University of Western Ontario in CanadaThe differences in the nature and effects of atrial fibrillation detected after a stroke compared to those known before are significant The article proposes a new classification of heart rhythm and research standards to guide future research in the field ensuring a more targeted and effective approach to secondary stroke prevention Sposato addedAtrial fibrillation is usually asymptomatic in stroke patients and generally happens in short bursts which can only be detected by continuously monitoring the heartThe balance between the total duration of each of those bursts of atrial fibrillation and other risk factors is pivotal in understanding patient risk levels and designing better treatment optionsFor the study the authors used information from their own studies gathered over a decade of intense research in the field and complemented it with updated data from other groupsOne of the main conclusions is that patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation poststroke generally have fewer associated health conditions and a 26 per cent lower likelihood of experiencing another stroke than those with known atrial fibrillationThis insight is crucial to design more personalised and effective treatment strategies for patientsTo date all patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation after a stroke are treated with anticoagulants except for when there is a clear contraindication This is what current national and international guidelines recommend In the future we may be able to identify patients with relatively lower risk who may not need to be treated with anticoagulants immediately but would need to be constantly monitored to detect changes in their risk profile said SposatoHowever further research is needed to prove this concept AIdriven diagnostic tools are potential gamechangers Such tools may identify lowrisk patients and may even flag moments in which their risk is transiently of permanently increased requiring a change in their medications or prevention strategiesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever