ArticleBMC cardiovascular disorders2019
MRI-detected brain lesions in AF patients without further stroke risk factors undergoing ablation - a retrospective analysis of prospective studies.
Article in BMC cardiovascular disorders, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- The potential value of serum neuron-specific enolase in screening for silent cerebral infarction following radiofrequency catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2026Article
- Impact of preprocedural anticoagulation on the incidence of silent cerebral embolisms after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation in patients with low thromboembolic risk.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Article
- Silent cerebral ischemic lesions in ablation-naïve patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation: Does the pulmonary vein anatomy matter?Cardiology journal · 2025Article
- Thromboembolic events and vascular dementia in patients with atrial fibrillation and low apparent stroke risk.Nature medicine · 2024Article
- Exploring the Link between Anticoagulation, Cognitive Impairment and Dementia in Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Early diagnosis and better rhythm management to improve outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation: the 8th AFNET/EHRA consensus conference.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2023Article
- Cerebral Microbleeds With Atrial Fibrillation After Ablation Therapy.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2022Article
- Cerebral thromboembolic risk in atrial fibrillation ablation: a direct comparison of vitamin K antagonists versus non-vitamin K-dependent oral anticoagulants.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2021Article
- Screening for atrial fibrillation: a call for evidence.European heart journal · 2020Review
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAtrial fibrillation (AF) without other stroke risk factors is assumed to have a low annual stroke risk comparable to patients without AF. Therefore, current clinical guidelines do not recommend oral anticoagulation for stroke prevention of AF in patients without stroke risk factors. We analyzed brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) imaging to estimate the rate of clinically inapparent ("silent") ischemic brain lesions in these patients.
methodsWe pooled individual patient-level data from three prospective studies comprising stroke-free patients with symptomatic AF. All study patients underwent brain MRI within 24-48 h before planned left atrial catheter ablation. MRIs were analyzed by a neuroradiologist blinded to clinical data.
resultsIn total, 175 patients (median age 60 (IQR 54-67) years, 32% female, median CHA
conclusionIn patients with symptomatic AF scheduled for ablation, brain MRI detected silent ischemic brain lesions in approximately one in 12 patients, and microbleeds in one in 5 patients. The prevalence of silent ischemic brain lesions did not differ in AF patients with or without further stroke risk factors.
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