Delayed-enhanced (DE) MRI may be useful for predicting the risk of stroke in patients treated for atrial fibrillation, according to a study in the February 15 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Researchers at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City said the additional information could result in effective strategies for stroke prevention. Individuals with atrial fibrillation are two to seven times more likely to suffer a stroke than the general population.
The study, which included 387 patients, aimed to determine if there was an association between an atrial-fibrillation patient's heart damage, such as left atrial fibrosis, which was detected using DE-MRI, and commonly used markers for the risk of stroke (JACC, February 15, 2011, Vol. 57:7, pp. 831-838).
Preliminary results indicate that DE-MRI-based detection of left atrial fibrosis is independently associated with prior history of strokes. The findings also provide preliminary evidence that the physiological features of the left atrium could be used, in addition to clinical features, when identifying stroke risk in patients.
Study co-author Nassir Marrouche, MD, executive director of the Comprehensive Arrhythmia Research and Management Center and director of Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratories for the University of Utah, said the technique can be a valuable tool for clinicians to use in conjunction with risk analysis to make decisions about anticoagulation medications when treating atrial fibrillation patients.
The researchers added that further prospective studies are needed to confirm the results.
By Wayne Forrest
AuntMinnie.com staff writer
February 11, 2011
