Outcome, Recurrence and Mortality after Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation Stroke: Long-Term Follow-Up Study.

Objective: Non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) is a major risk factor for ischemic stroke (IS) and a powerful predictor of mortality. This study investigates early and long-term outcome among patients with IS secondary to NVAF and identify the main factors associated with poor outcome, recurrence, and death.

Methods: We analyzed the data from our consecutive NVAF acute IS database, over a period of 23 years. The endpoints were bad outcome (Modified Rankin Score ≥3), recurrence, and mortality at discharge, after 6 months, 12 months, and final follow-up. Multivariate Cox and Kaplan-Meier analysis were used to estimate the probability of death.

Results: 129 consecutive acute IS patients were included (77 [59.7%] females, mean age 70.2 ± 10.1 years). Discharge, 6 and 12 months bad outcome was 62%, 63%, and 61%, respectively. After a median follow-up of 17 months (IQR 6-54.5), 35.6% patients had bad outcome, 21.7% had recurrence and 36.4% died. The recurrence and death annual rates were 19.1% and 6.32%. The absence of oral anticoagulation (OAC) and NIHSS score > 12 were the strongest predictors of mortality.

Conclusions: IS secondary to NVAF has a high rate of stroke recurrence and mortality in our population, with the absence of OAC and major stroke as the main risk factors.