Atrial fibrillation in high-risk patients with ischaemic stroke – Authors' reply
Systematic monitoring for detection of atrial fibrillation in patients with acute ischaemic stroke (MonDAFIS): a randomised, open-label, multicentre study.
Summary Background Systematic electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring improves detection of covert atrial fibrillation in stroke survivors but the effect on secondary prevention is unknown. We aimed to assess the effect of systematic ECG monitoring of patients in hospital on the rate of oral anticoagulant use after 12 months. Methods In this investigator-initiated, randomised, open-label, parallel-group multicentre study with masked endpoint adjudication, we recruited patients aged at least 18 years with acute ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack without known atrial fibrillation in 38 certified stroke units in Germany. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to usual diagnostic procedur…
Abstract WP201: Stroke Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Detected by 72 hour- versus Prolonged ECG-monitoring
Background: Detecting concealed paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (pAF) is a major focus in the workup of ischemic-stroke-patients. The minimal ECG-monitoring for stroke patients was recently expanded from 24 to 72 hours. However, it has been shown that even more prolonged monitoring reveals further pAF-cases. Our aim was to determine, whether known predictors for underlying pAF differ between stroke patients with AF that occurs on shorter (72h) or more prolonged ECG-monitoring (>72h). Methods: The Find-AF RANDOMISED -trial (NCT01855035) evaluated 3x10-day Holter-ECG vs. standard-care in patients > 60 years with acute ischemic strokes with the primary endpoint of novel pAF after 6 month…
Economic evaluation of prolonged and enhanced ECG Holter monitoring in acute ischemic stroke patients
Objective: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major cause for recurrent stroke, has severe impact on a patient's health and imposes a high economic burden for society. Current guidelines recommend 24 h ECG monitoring (standard-of-care, SoC) to detect AF after stroke to reduce the risk of future events. However, paroxysmal AF (PAF) is difficult to detect within this period as it occurs infrequently and unpredictably. In a randomized controlled trial (Find-AF(RANDOMISED)), prolonged and enhanced Holter ECG monitoring (EPM) revealed a significantly higher detection rate of AF compared to SoC, although its cost-effectiveness has not yet been investigated. Methods: Based on the data of FIND-AF(RANDOM…
Abstract 3420: High-sensitivity Troponin T Improves Cardiovascular Risk Prediction In Patients With Cerebral Ischemia
Background Patients with a cerebral ischemic event are at high risk of recurrent ischemia and other cardiovascular events. Clinical scores are recommended to predict cardiovascular risk in patients with cerebral ischemia to inform secondary preventive measures. Biomarkers may improve risk prediction beyond clinical scores and therefore secondary prevention. Methods Within the observational Find-AF trial (ISRCTN 46104198), 197 patients aged >18 years with cerebral ischemia and without atrial fibrillation had blood sampled at baseline and completed 1-year follow-up. Predictive value of 5 novel cardiovascular biomarkers for a combined vascular endpoint (acute coronary syndrome, stroke, car…
Abstract 124: How to Preselect Stroke Patients for Enhanced ECG-Monitoring - Evaluation of Predictors of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation in "Find-AFrandomised"
Background: Detecting concealed paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (pAF) is a major focus of the workup of ischemic-stroke-patients, but requires elaborate ECG-monitoring. We aimed to evaluate pre-specified predictors to determine stroke patients with an increased probability of underlying pAF. We applied cut-off-levels recently suggested by the German Stroke Society 1 . Methods: The Find-AF RANDOMISED -trial (NCT01855035) evaluated 3x10-day Holter-ECG vs. standard-care in 398 patients > 60 years with acute ischemic strokes. The primary endpoint was novel pAF after 6 months. 27 patients in the intervention arm (13.5 %) and 9 patients in the control arm (9.0 %) met the primary endpoint (p=0.…
Clinical predictors to identify paroxysmal atrial fibrillation after ischaemic stroke.
Background and purpose Detection of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (pAF) after an ischaemic cerebrovascular event is of imminent interest, because oral anticoagulation as a highly effective secondary preventive treatment is available. Whereas permanent atrial fibrillation (AF) can be detected during routine electrocardiogram (ECG), longer detection duration will detect more pAF but might be resource consuming. The current study tried to identify clinical predictors for pAF detected during long-term Holter ECG and clinical follow-up. Methods Patients with acute ischaemic stroke were prospectively investigated with an intensified algorithm to detect pAF (7-day Holter ECG, follow-up investigat…
Health-related quality of life, anxiety and depression up to 12 months post-stroke: Influence of sex, age, stroke severity and atrial fibrillation - A longitudinal subanalysis of the Find-AF
Abstract Background Stroke can negatively impact the health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Anxiety or depression after stroke have been associated with poorer HRQoL, higher mortality and greater dependence in activities of daily living. We aimed to analyze HRQoL, anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with and without atrial fibrillation (AF) up to 12 months post-stroke. Methods Find-AFRANDOMISED was a prospective, randomized multicenter study, which included 398 patients ≥60 years with acute cerebral ischemia. HRQoL data were collected using the 3-level EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D-3L) and Stroke Impact Scale (SIS-16). Anxiety and depressive symptoms were measured using the Hospital Anxiety an…
High-sensitivity troponin assay improves prediction of cardiovascular risk in patients with cerebral ischaemia
Background and purpose Clinical scores are recommended for predicting cardiovascular risk in patients with cerebral ischaemia to inform secondary prevention. Blood biomarkers may improve prediction beyond clinical scores. Methods Within the observational Find-AF trial (ISRCTN46104198), 197 patients >18 years of age with cerebral ischaemia and without atrial fibrillation had blood sampled at baseline. The predictive value of five biomarkers for a combined vascular endpoint (acute coronary syndrome, stroke, cardiovascular death) and all-cause mortality was determined, alone and in addition to the Essen Stroke Risk Score (ESRS), Stroke Prognostic Instrument 2 (SPI-2) and National Institutes of…
Brain Natriuretic Peptide and Discovery of Atrial Fibrillation After Stroke
Background and Purpose— Diagnosing paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (pAF) can be challenging after acute ischemic stroke. Enhanced and prolonged Holter-ECG monitoring (EPM) improves the detection rate but is not feasible for all patients. We hypothesized that brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) may help to identify patients with stroke at high risk for pAF to select patients for EPM more effectively. Methods— Patients with acute cerebral ischemia ≥60 years presenting in sinus rhythm and without history of AF were included into a prospective, randomized multicenter study to receive either EPM (3× 10-day Holter-ECG) or usual stroke care diagnostic work-up. BNP plasma levels were measured on random…
Holter-electrocardiogram-monitoring in patients with acute ischaemic stroke (Find-AFRANDOMISED): an open-label randomised controlled trial.
Summary Background Atrial fibrillation is a major risk factor for recurrent ischaemic stroke, but often remains undiagnosed in patients who have had an acute ischaemic stroke. Enhanced and prolonged Holter-electrocardiogram-monitoring might increase detection of atrial fibrillation. We therefore investigated whether enhanced and prolonged rhythm monitoring was better for detection of atrial fibrillation than standard care procedures in patients with acute ischaemic stroke. Methods Find-AF randomised is an open-label randomised study done at four centres in Germany. We recruited patients with acute ischaemic stroke (symptoms for 7 days or less) aged 60 years or older presenting with sinus rh…
Abstract TMP17: Revacept, an Inhibitor of Platelet Adhesion in Patients With Symptomatic Carotid Artery Stenosis. Safety Data From the International Randomized Multicenter Revacept CS02 Phase 2 Study
Introduction: Revacept is a novel vascular lesion-directed inhibitor of platelet adhesion and thrombus formation, exhibiting no effects on the homeostatic functions of circulating platelets. Objective: The effects of Revacept on plaque-mediated thrombosis were investigated in patients with symptomatic stenosis of the internal carotid artery (at least 50%, following ECST-criteria). Methods: Within an international, prospective, multicenter (n=16), randomized trial 158 patients could be randomized to receive placebo, or 40/120 mg Revacept by intravenous infusion over 20 minutes. Cerebrovascular events and cardiovascular complications were followed up to 3 months. Results: 158 patients were f…
NfL (Neurofilament Light Chain) Levels as a Predictive Marker for Long-Term Outcome After Ischemic Stroke
Background and Purpose— Ischemic stroke causes major disability as a consequence of neuronal loss and recurrent ischemic events. Biomarkers predicting tissue damage or stroke recurrence might be useful to guide an individualized stroke therapy. NfL (neurofilament light chain) is a promising biomarker that might be used for this purpose. Methods— We used individual data of patients with an acute ischemic stroke and clinical long term follow-up. Serum NfL (sNfL) was quantified within 24 hours after admission and after 1 year and compared with other biomarkers (GDF15 [growth differentiation factor 15], S100, NT-proBNP [N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide], ANP [atrial natriuretic peptid…
Stroke Care Within the COVID-19 Pandemic—Increasing Awareness of Transient and Mild Stroke Symptoms Needed
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic might affect health care resources and alter patient admission to hospital in case of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). We aim to determine whether the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting utilization of recanalization procedures and numbers of patients with stroke and TIA admitted to a primary care stroke center.Methods: In this retrospective observational study, we compared patients admitted from January 2019 until February 2020 with patients admitted during the COVID-19 pandemic (March/April 2020) in Germany. We included patients with stroke (hemorrhagic or ischemic) or TIA as classified by International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Rela…
Abstract WP200: Development and Validation of a Score to Detect Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation During Long-term Holter-monitoring After Acute Ischemic Stroke
Introduction: Atrial fibrillation remains one of the most common causes of ischemic stroke. The diagnosis of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (pAF) frequently escapes routine diagnostic due to its intermittent and asymptomatic occurrence. Currently prolonged monitoring times (72h) are recommended, but did not find their way into everyday practice. Therefore an individual patient selection for prolonged ECG-monitoring might increase the diagnostic yield of pAF in a resource-saving and cost-effective manner. Methods: We used individual patient data from three prospective studies (n total =1556) which performed a prolonged Holter ECG-monitoring (at least 72 h) and centralized data evaluation af…
Antagonizing dabigatran by idarucizumab in cases of ischemic stroke or intracranial hemorrhage in Germany - A national case collection.
BackgroundIdarucizumab is a monoclonal antibody fragment with high affinity for dabigatran that reverses its anticoagulant effects within minutes. It may exhibit the potential for patients under dabigatran therapy suffering ischemic stroke to regain eligibility for thrombolysis with rt-PA and may inhibit lesion growth in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage on dabigatran.AimsTo provide insights into the clinical use of idarucizumab in patients under effective dabigatran anticoagulation presenting with signs of ischemic stroke or intracranial hemorrhage.MethodsRetrospective data collected from German neurological/neurosurgical departments administering idarucizumab following product launch…
Antagonizing dabigatran by idarucizumab in cases of ischemic stroke or intracranial hemorrhage in Germany—Updated series of 120 cases
Background Idarucizumab is a monoclonal antibody fragment with high affinity for dabigatran reversing its anticoagulant effects within minutes. Thereby, patients with acute ischemic stroke who are on dabigatran treatment may become eligible for thrombolysis with recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA). In patients on dabigatran with intracerebral hemorrhage idarucizumab could prevent lesion growth. Aims To provide insights into the clinical use of idarucizumab in patients under effective dabigatran anticoagulation presenting with signs of acute ischemic stroke or intracranial hemorrhage. Methods Retrospective data collected from German neurological/neurosurgical departments ad…
Safety of endovascular treatment in acute stroke patients taking oral anticoagulants
International journal of stroke 12(4), 412-415 (2017). doi:10.1177/1747493016677986
Automatic detection of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in patients with ischaemic stroke: better than routine diagnostic workup?
Background and purpose Prolonged electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring after ischaemic stroke increases the diagnostic yield of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (pAF). In order to facilitate the additional workload involved in ECG analysis due to prolonged monitoring times, we investigated the effectiveness of pAF detection with an automated software algorithm (SA) in comparison to the routine staff-based analysis (RA) during standard stroke-unit care. Therefore, patients with acute ischaemic stroke or transitory ischaemic attack presenting with sinus rhythmus on the admission ECG and no history of atrial fibrillation were prospectively included. Methods A 24-h Holter ECG assessment was performe…
Revacept, an Inhibitor of Platelet Adhesion in Symptomatic Carotid Artery Stenosis: Design and Rationale of a Randomized Phase II Clinical Trial
AbstractPatients with stroke or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) and internal carotid artery stenosis harbor an increased risk of recurrent stroke especially within 2 weeks after the first event. In addition, the revascularization procedure itself (carotid endarterectomy [CEA] or carotid artery stenting [CAS]) is associated with both clinically apparent and silent brain infarctions, mainly caused by the embolic nature of the ruptured carotid plaque. The glycoprotein VI (GPVI) fusion protein Revacept is a highly specific antithrombotic drug without direct inhibition of systemic platelet function that might reduce periprocedural distal embolization from the vulnerable ruptured plaque located…
Mechanical recanalization in basilar artery occlusion: The ENDOSTROKE study
Objective A study was undertaken to evaluate clinical and procedural factors associated with outcome and recanalization in endovascular stroke treatment (EVT) of basilar artery (BA) occlusion. Methods ENDOSTROKE is an investigator-initiated multicenter registry for patients undergoing EVT. This analysis includes 148 consecutive patients with BA occlusion, with 59% having received intravenous thrombolysis prior to EVT. Recanalization (defined as Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction [TICI] score 2b–3) and collateral status (using the American Society of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology/Society of Interventional Radiology collateral grading system) were assessed by a blinded core l…
Finding atrial fibrillation in stroke patients: Randomized evaluation of enhanced and prolonged Holter monitoring—Find-AFRANDOMISED —rationale and design
Background Detecting paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with ischemic strokes presenting in sinus rhythm is challenging because episodes are often short, occur randomly, and are frequently asymptomatic. If AF is detected, recurrent thromboembolism can be prevented efficiently by oral anticoagulation. Numerous uncontrolled studies using various electrocardiogram (ECG) devices have established that prolonged ECG monitoring increases the yield of AF detection, but most established procedures are time-consuming and costly. The few randomized trials are mostly limited to cryptogenic strokes. The optimal method, duration, and patient selection remain unclear. Repeated prolonged conti…
Subclinical atrial fibrillation: how hard should we look?
More than three decades ago, an analysis from the Framingham Heart Study revealed that atrial fibrillation (AF) increases the risk of stroke by a factor of five in non-rheumatic AF and by a factor of 17 in rheumatic AF.1 Since then, it has convincingly been shown that anticoagulation is one of the most effective secondary stroke prophylactic treatment options, which reduces the risk of stroke by 2/3,2 even in an older population.3 AF may occur in different types and in an individual patient often starts with paroxysmal AF, but later becomes persistent or permanent AF.4 Interestingly, the risk of stroke or systemic embolism is influenced by cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, d…
Response by Uphaus et al to Letter Regarding Article, “NfL (Neurofilament Light Chain) Levels as a Predictive Marker for Long-Term Outcome After Ischemic Stroke”
Letter by Wachter et al regarding article, "occult atrial fibrillation in cryptogenic stroke: detection by 7-day electrocardiogram versus implantable cardiac monitors".
To the Editor: We read with great interest the article of Ritter et al,1 which nicely demonstrates that the prolongation of ECG monitoring time increases the detection rate of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in stroke patients, a result that is in concordance with existing literature. One aspect especially drawn to our attention was the lower yield of the Holter monitoring during simultaneous ECG recording as compared with the implantable loop recorder (ILR). ILRs only store automatically triggered episodes and can detect only atrial fibrillation (AF) episodes of ≥2 minutes, whereas Holter ECGs store (usually semiautomatically analyzed) continuous recordings and …
Long-term performance of the bovine pericardium patch in conventional carotid endarterectomy.
Objective The aim of the study was to analyze long-term results of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) using bovine pericardium patch. Patients and Methods This study is a retrospective analysis of 274 consecutive cases (173 in CEA group and 101 patients in an internal control group of eversion endarterectomy [EEA]) operated between January 2005 and May 2007. Operations were performed according to standard surgical technique. Primary endpoints of the study were 30-day mortality, ipsilateral neurologic event rate, and high-grade restenosis in the long-term follow-up. Results No statistically significance between both groups was found in terms of gender, age, risk factors, medication (statine, plate…
Predictors of carotid artery in-stent restenosis
SummaryBackgroundCarotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS) is increasingly being used as a treatment alternative to endarterectomy (CEA), especially in patients aged <70 years with significant carotid artery stenosis. However, an in-stent restenosis (ISR) might endangering the long-term efficacy of CAS. The aim of this article was to review the current literature regarding incidence and clinical significance as well as predictors of in-stent restenosis.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review of the literature to identify all studies on the abovementioned factors.Results3 randomized-controlled trials comparing CAS and CEA and 13 single centre studies fulfilled our inclusion criteria. The occurr…
Software-based analysis of 1-hour Holter ECG to select for prolonged ECG monitoring after stroke.
Abstract Objective Identification of ischemic stroke patients at high risk for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (pAF) during 72 hours Holter ECG might be useful to individualize the allocation of prolonged ECG monitoring times, currently not routinely applied in clinical practice. Methods In a prospective multicenter study, the first analysable hour of raw ECG data from prolonged 72 hours Holter ECG monitoring in 1031 patients with acute ischemic stroke/TIA presenting in sinus rhythm was classified by an automated software (AA) into “no risk of AF” or “risk of AF” and compared to clinical variables to predict AF during 72 hours Holter‐ECG. Results pAF was diagnosed in 54 patients (5.2%; mean …
Relevance of supraventricular runs detected after cerebral ischemia
Objective:Prolonged ECG monitoring after stroke frequently reveals short paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (pAF) and supraventricular (SV) runs. The minimal duration of atrial fibrillation (AF) required to induce cardioembolism, the relevance of SV runs, and whether short pAF results from cerebral damage itself are currently being debated. We aimed to study the relevance of SV runs and short pAF detected by prolonged Holter ECG after cerebral ischemia during long-term follow-up.Methods:Analysis is from the prospective Find-AF trial (ISRCTN46104198). We included patients with acute cerebral ischemia. Those without AF on admission received 7-day Holter ECG monitoring. We differentiated patients …
Automatic Holter electrocardiogram analysis in ischaemic stroke patients to detect paroxysmal atrial fibrillation : ready to replace physicians?
Background and purpose The detection of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (pAF) in patients presenting with ischaemic stroke shifts secondary stroke prevention to oral anticoagulation. In order to deal with the time- and resource-consuming manual analysis of prolonged electrocardiogram (ECG)-monitoring data, we investigated the effectiveness of pAF detection with an automated algorithm (AA) in comparison to a manual analysis with software support within the IDEAS study [study analysis (SA)]. Methods We used the dataset of the prospective IDEAS cohort of patients with acute ischaemic stroke/transient ischaemic attack presenting in sinus rhythm undergoing prolonged 72-h Holter ECG with central a…