H. Yamanouchi et al., PAROXYSMAL ATRIAL-FIBRILLATION - HIGH-FREQUENCY OF EMBOLIC BRAIN INFARCTION IN ELDERLY AUTOPSY PATIENTS, Neurology, 49(6), 1997, pp. 1691-1694
We examined brains clinicopathologically from 54 consecutive paroxysma
l atrial fibrillation (PAF) patients aged 70 years or older and compar
ed them with those of 59 age-matched controls. Symptomatic cerebral in
farctions 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 co
mmon 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 cerebra
l embolism.