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Updated: Feb 13, 2026

The WATCHMAN Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device for Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: February 28, 2012
[Left atrial stiffness in patients with cryptogenic stroke]
Jorge E Hernández-Del Río1, Amado Jiménez-Ruiz2, Christian González-Padilla1
1Servicio de Cardiología, Laboratorio de Ecocardiografía, Hospital Civil de Guadalajara Fray Antonio Alcalde, Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Guadalajara, Jal., México.
Objective:
To evaluate the left atrial reservoir strain (LARS) and left atrial stiffness index (LASI) and its role in predicting atrial fibrillation (AF) and cardioembolic events in patients with cryptogenic ischemic stroke.
Method:
Patients underwent echocardiographic evaluation to measure LARS and LASI, and a second 24-hour Holter within the first month of their neurological event. The association of these parameters with AF and neuroimaging findings was analyzed. ROC curves were used to evaluate the predictive ability of these parameters for AF and cardioembolic events. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify predictors. Results.
Results:
LASI > 0.29 and LARS < 36% were the best predictors of AF. In univariate analysis, LASI and LARS were associated with AF. In multivariate analysis, only LASI remained significant. SRAI and iRAI were associated with the presence of cardioembolism in neuroimaging studies in the univariate analysis, and only the SRAI in the multivariate analysis.
Conclusions:
LASI and LARS can help identify patients with cryptogenic ischemic stroke at risk for AF and cardioembolic events. These parameters are useful in detecting subclinical AF and have a strong correlation with neuroimaging characteristics of cardioembolism.
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