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.
University of Texas at Houston, Vascular Neurology Program, Houston, Tex. 77030, USA. hen.hallevi@uth.tmc.edu
Hen
H
Hallevi
Karen C
KC
Albright
Sheryl
S
Martin-Schild
Andrew D
AD
Barreto
James C
JC
Grotta
Sean I
SI
Savitz
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