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 …