Cardioembolic Stroke - A Study of Its Incidence, Aetiology, Clinical Presentation and Outcome

BACKGROUND stroke accounts for 14-30% of all cerebral infarctions with a greater tendency of recurrence and it can be . Cardioembolic stroke is a potentially devastating condition that causes frequent diagnostic and therapeutic and prompt diagnosis to define cardioembolic strokes is important for its secondary prevention. objective of the study was to study the incidence, aetiology, clinical presentation and outcome of a cardioembolic . AND METHODS present observational study was conducted among a sample size of 100 cases of admitted to Intensive Care Unit in Al Medical College Hospital with an onset of acute neurological deficit in the age group of 30-85 years having first event acute ischemic stroke after taking a written, informed consent. The study period was November 2015 to August 2017. mean age of our study population was 55.95±12.71 years with male dominance (62%). The incidence of cardioembolic was 19% and mean age group among the cardioembolic stroke was 59.21±12.10 years. Non-valvular atrial fibrillation found in majority of patients. The patients mostly presented with motor impairment followed by altered consciousness. involved the middle cerebral artery territory in majority of patients. The survival rate was 89.47%. sources of embolism have to be carefully sought and echocardiography is the main diagnostic tool. The most frequent source of embolism is atrial fibrillation.