High prevalence of atrial fibrillation among Greenlanders with ischemic stroke – atrial fibrillation found in more than 30% of cases

Abstract

Objectives. To estimate the prevalence of atrial fibrillation among Greenlanders with ischemic stroke. Study design. A cross-sectional study. Methods. Information on atrial fibrillation and vitamin K antagonistic treatment at admittance and at discharge was obtained for Greenlanders admitted to Queen Ingrid's Hospital in Nuuk with an ischemic stroke in 2011 or in 2012 with methods described in details elsewhere. Results. Of 139 patients (64 males and 75 females) Greenlanders with an ischemic stroke in 2011 (n=74) or 2012 (n=65), 5.0% (n=7) had known atrial fibrillation prior to stroke compared to 32.4% (n=45) after discharge (p<0.01). Conclusions. More than 30% of ischemic stroke patients in this study had atrial fibrillation and only 5% were diagnosed prior to the stroke, suggesting that unknown atrial fibrillation is a substantial risk factor of ischemic stroke among Greenlanders.

Keywords

• atrial fibrillation
• ischemic stroke
• risk factor