Mechanisms of cardioembolic stroke revisited. Atrial cardiopathy.

Mechanisms of cardioembolic stroke revisited. Atrial cardiopathy. Kardiol Pol. 2017 Nov 13;: Authors: Mączyńska J, Kurkowska-Jastrzębska I, Dąbrowski R Abstract There has been only moderate progress in our understanding of potential relation between atrial arrhythmia and stroke over years. Current approach is still based on a hypothesis that atrial contractile dysfunction due to fibrillation causes blood stasis, which accompanied by other factors acting together as Virchow's triad produces thrombus and embolism to the brain. In this review we would like to discuss a relatively new concept of atrial cardiopathy. It assumes that risk of thromboembolism is increased regardless of atrial rhythm, being largely driven by atrial tissue abnormalities, such as fibrosis, endothelial and myocytes dysfunction and atrial dilatation. In this perspective AF may be a potential warning sign but not always a cause of thromboembolism. Atrial cardiopathy may cause thromboembolism even in the absence of AF and this approach is more neurologically-oriented. Another emerging issue is atrial cardiomyopathy defined as "any complex of structural, architectural, contractile or electrophysiological changes affecting the atria with the potential to produce clinically relevant manifestation". PMID: 29131288 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Polish Heart Journal - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Kardiol Pol Source Type: research