Atrial Fibrosis, Ischaemic Stroke and Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrosis is an important component of the arrhythmic substrate in AF. Evidence suggests that atrial fibrosis also plays a role in increasing the risk of stroke in patients with the arrhythmia. Patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS), who are suspected to have AF but are rar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Arrhythmia & electrophysiology review 2021-12, Vol.10 (4), p.225-229
Main Authors: Mahnkopf, Christian, Kwon, Younghoon, Akoum, Nazem
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ablation
Biomarkers
Blood clots
Cardiac arrhythmia
Catheters
Clinical Arrhythmias
Collagen
Ischemia
Pacemakers
Peptides
Risk factors
Stroke
Thromboembolism
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Summary:Atrial fibrosis is an important component of the arrhythmic substrate in AF. Evidence suggests that atrial fibrosis also plays a role in increasing the risk of stroke in patients with the arrhythmia. Patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS), who are suspected to have AF but are rarely shown to have it, frequently demonstrate evidence of atrial fibrosis; measured using late-gadolinium enhancement MRI, this manifests as atrial remodelling encompassing structural, functional and electrical properties. In this review, the authors discuss the available evidence linking atrial disease, including fibrosis, with the risk of ischaemic stroke in AF, as well as in the ESUS population, in whom it has been linked to recurrent stroke and new-onset AF. They also discuss the implications of this association on future research that may elucidate the mechanism of stroke and stroke prevention strategies in the AF and ESUS populations.
ISSN:2050-3369
2050-3377
DOI:10.15420/aer.2021.51