title: Association of Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia with Ischemic Stroke: A National Case-Control Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cardioembolic stroke accounts for approximately 15%-20% of all ischemic strokes. Atrial fibrillation constitutes one-half to two-thirds of all cardioembolic stroke events. The association of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) with ischemic stroke remains unclear. A national case-control study was conducted to identify the risk factors, including PSVT, for ischemic stroke in Taiwan.
  
  
  METHODS
  We designed a national case-control study comprising patients diagnosed with ischemic stroke (n = 5633) from 1997 to 2011; each patient from the case group was randomly matched with the control group (n = 30,895) in Taiwan. Data were retrospectively collected from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, which contains not only claims data on hospitalization, emergency room visits, and outpatient department visits, but also patient characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors for ischemic stroke. Independent risk factors for ischemic stroke included age (in 5-year intervals; odds ratio [OR], 1.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 173-1.78), the male sex (versus the female sex; OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.74-2.01), chronic kidney disease (OR, 3.09; 95% CI, 2.67-3.57), PSVT (OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.30-3.19), and aspirin use (OR, .04; 95% CI, .03-0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study is the first in Taiwan to identify PSVT as a significant risk factor for ischemic stroke. New antithrombotic regimens, including aspirin, can be recommended for the primary prevention of stroke and for reducing the burden of stroke for patients with PSVT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jui-Kun
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.affiliation: The School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsueh-Hsin
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Tainan Municipal Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan. Electronic address: m2200767@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yee-Hsin
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D013614:Tachycardia, Paroxysmal / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013617:Tachycardia, Supraventricular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents
keywords: Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia; Taiwan; aspirin; ischemic stroke