Frequency of left atrial dilatation in ischemic stroke

OBJECTIVE The study aimed to evaluate the frequency of left atrial dilatation in cases of first-ever acute ischemic stroke with or without atrial fibrillation in a cohort of patients hospitalized for ischemic stroke. METHODS Files of 120 patients admitted to our hospital with the diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke were investigated. All patients had at least one brain imaging. Etiology of stroke was categorized according to Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) classification. Transthoracic and/or transoesophageal echocardiography was used to measure left atrium size. Optimal cut-off value of left atrial diameter was determined as 4 cm. SPSS 11.5 was used for statistical analyses. RESULTS In 40% of the patients, left atrial dilatation was detected. Nineteen patients with left atrial dilatation had atrial fibrillation, which was statistically significant (p<0.05). Ninety-four (30.8%) patients with no atrial fibrillation had left atrial dilatation. In the TOAST classification trial, as a statistically significant finding, left atrial dilatation was detected 68.9% of the patients with cardioembolic infarcts. The most frequently encountered risk factor in patients was hypertension. CONCLUSION Left atrial dilatation is an important marker for cerebrovascular diseases, and if accompanied by atrial fibrillation becomes even more significant.