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European Heart Journal 1989 10(12):1101-1104;
Copyright © 1989 by the European Society of Cardiology.
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© 1989 The European Society of Cardiology

Echocardiography and cerebral computed tomography in chronic atrial fibrillation

P. PETERSEN, F. PEDERSEN, E. B. MADSEN, B. BRUN, C. GYLDENSTED and G. BOYSEN

Cardiovascular Laboratory, Department of Neurology and Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark

Received 17 January 1989; revised 2 May 1989; .

Correspondence address: Palle Petersen, Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, 9, Blegdamsvej, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark

Abstract

Chronic atrial fibrillation (CAF) may be complicated by asymptomatic small silent cerebral infarctions as well as by stroke. The echocardiographic findings in 29 patients with CAF and 29 controls in sinus rhythm are presented. The cerebral computed tomography (CT) findings in these patients were previously published and significantly more small low-density lesions, probably reflecting previous infarctions, were found in patients with CAF than in controls. The aim of the present study was to evaluate if patients with such cerebral lesions had characteristic echocardiographic abnormalities with special reference to patients with CAF. No significant differences could be detected between the groups with and without cerebral lesions regarding the occurrence of valvular heart disease, left ventricular dysfunction, end-diastolic diameter of the left ventricle, left atrial dimension and left ventricular fractional shortening. Only seven patients with CAF (24%) compared with 21 in sinus rhythm (72%) had normal echocardiograms (P<0.001). In conclusion, echocardiography gave no guidance to why some patients developed cerebral low-density areas on CT.

Key Words: Atrial fibrillation • cerebrovascular disease


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