title: Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: high frequency of embolic brain infarction in elderly autopsy patients.
abstract: We examined brains clinicopathologically from 54 consecutive paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) patients aged 70 years or older and compared them with those of 59 age-matched controls. Symptomatic cerebral infarctions were present in 29 PAF patients (53.7%) and in 13 controls (22.0%) (p < 0.001). Symptomatic brain infarction was 2.4 times more common in PAF cases than in PAF-free controls; approximately 60% of the infarctions in the PAF cases were judged to be cardioembolic in origin. PAF in the elderly can be an important cause for cardiogenic cerebral embolism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamanouchi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mizutani
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Esaki
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000150:complications*; D002102:Cadaver; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004617:Embolism / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male