The complications of cardioembolic stroke: lessons from the VISTA database.
BACKGROUND
Cardioembolic stroke (CES) accounts for 20-30% of ischemic strokes. We attempted to describe the complications of CES.


METHODS
We analyzed a cohort of CES patients from the VISTA database who were not given thrombolytics.


RESULTS
397 patients were included. Recurrent stroke occurred in 2.5% (10/397); stroke progression in 7.8% (31/397); systemic bleeding in 3% (12/397), and hemorrhagic transformation (HT) in 1.5% (6/397). A bimodal temporal distribution was observed for HT. The mortality rate was 103/397 (25.9%) and was associated with stroke progression and recurrence.


CONCLUSIONS
HT is common in CES patients and presents in a bimodal distribution. Stroke progression is the most frequent serious complication. Further study is indicated to identify predictors of stroke progression.
Hallevi
Hen
H
University of Texas at Houston, Vascular Neurology Program, Houston, Tex. 77030, USA. hen.hallevi@uth.tmc.edu
Albright
Karen C
KC
Martin-Schild
Sheryl
S
Barreto
Andrew D
AD
Grotta
James C
JC
Savitz
Sean I
SI
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D018450:Disease Progression; D004617:Embolism / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D013997:Time Factors