Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 5, 2026

Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
08:10

Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation

Published on: July 20, 2022

Impaired left atrial strain is associated with acute ischemic stroke in patients without atrial fibrillation

Robert Trueick1, Jonathan Shpigelman2, Omar Dabash3

  • 1Department of Cardiology, Connolly Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.

Frontiers in Stroke
|July 29, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Left atrial conduit strain (LAScd) impairment is linked to acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in patients without known high-risk factors. This finding suggests LAScd may help identify individuals needing preventive strategies for stroke risk.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Neurology
  • Echocardiography

Background:

  • Cryptogenic stroke presents a significant clinical challenge due to its unknown cause.
  • Left atrial dysfunction, assessed by left atrial strain (LAS), may predict acute ischemic stroke (AIS) risk, even without atrial fibrillation (AF).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the association of left atrial strain (LAS) with prevalent and incident acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in patients without high-risk stroke mechanisms.
  • To determine if LAS can serve as a biomarker for stroke risk stratification.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective study of patients with positive Face Arm Speech Test (FAST) results and no high-risk stroke mechanisms.
  • Transthoracic echocardiography with speckle-tracking used to measure LAS in reservoir (LASr), conduit (LAScd), and contractile (LASct) phases.
  • Multivariable logistic and Cox regression analyses to assess associations with prevalent and incident AIS.

Main Results:

  • Both LASr and LAScd were independently associated with AIS at presentation.
  • During follow-up, worsening tertiles of LASr and LAScd correlated with increased AIS incidence.
  • LAScd remained independently associated with incident AIS, suggesting its prognostic value.

Conclusions:

  • Impaired LAScd is independently associated with prevalent and incident AIS in patients without identified high-risk stroke mechanisms.
  • LAScd may be a valuable tool for risk stratification and guiding preventive strategies in this population.
  • Further prospective studies are warranted to confirm these findings.
Abstract

Keywords:
ESUSacute ischemic strokecryptogenic strokeleft atrial cardiomyopathyleft atrial strainspeckle-tracking echocardiography

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