title: Diabetes and silent atrial fibrillation: A dangerous liaison?
abstract: Diabetic patients have higher risk of stroke when compared to non-diabetics and in 25% of patients the cause of stroke is unknown. Marfella et al hypothesized that subclinical episodes of atrial fibrillation may be a common etiologic factor. 464 type-2 diabetic patients were compared to 240 health controls and were followed-up for 37 months. Silent cerebral infarcts at baseline were more common among diabetic patients with silent AF (176 patients) when compared to non-silent AF group (288 patients) (61% vs. 29%; p < 0.001) and was associated with higher number of stroke at follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Qatar Cardiovascular Research Center and Adult Cardiology, Heart Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Jassim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Al Suwaidi