Lack of association between stroke and left atrial out-pouching structures: results of a case-control study.

• Main Authors: Ji Young Ko, Young Dae Kim, Yoo Jin Hong, Hye-Jeong Lee, Jin Hur, Byoung Wook Choi, Ji Hoe Heo, Young Jin Kim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3792154?pdf=render

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Clinical significance of out-pouching structures of the left atrium (LA) as potential embolic sources remains unclear. We sought to evaluate the association between stroke and LA out-pouching structures. METHODS:A case-control study was conducted to assess the prevalence of LA out-pouching structures in subjects with and without stroke. Case subjects were 270 stroke patients who had undergone cardiac CT. Control subjects were 270 age- and sex-matched patients without a history of stroke and who had undergone cardiac CT. Presence of LA out-pouching structures was determined by ECG-gated cardiac CT. The location of out-pouching structures was categorized as near Bachmann bundle, anterior, inferoseptal, inferior, and lateral. The prevalence, number and location of out-pouching structures and clinical characteristics were compared between the two groups. RESULTS:One hundred sixty eight out-pouching structures were identified in 139 stroke patients (51%), while a total of 169 out-pouching structures were found in 155 control patients (57%) (p=0.1949). The prevalence of LA out-pouching structures with different locations was not significantly different between the stroke group and control group. In the stroke group, the prevalence of out-pouching structures was not significantly different by subtypes of ischemic stroke and the prevalence of LA out-pouching structures was not different between patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and without AF. CONCLUSION:The left atrial out-pouching structures are commonly seen in a population with and without stroke with similar prevalence. Our study suggests that LA out-pouching structures are not significant risk factors of stroke.