Atrial fibrillation in cryptogenic stroke and TIA patients in The Nordic Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke (NOR-FIB) Study: Main results.

Secondary stroke prevention depends on proper identification of the underlying etiology and initiation of optimal treatment after the index event. The aim of the NOR-FIB study was to detect and quantify underlying atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with cryptogenic stroke (CS) or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) using insertable cardiac monitor (ICM), to optimise secondary prevention, and to test the feasibility of ICM usage for stroke physicians. Prospective observational international multicenter real-life study of CS and TIA patients monitored for 12 months with ICM (Reveal LINQ) for AF detection. ICM insertion was performed in 91.5% by stroke physicians, within median 9 days after index event. Paroxysmal AF was diagnosed in 74 out of 259 patients (28.6%), detected early after ICM insertion (mean 48 ± 52 days) in 86.5% of patients. AF patients were older (72.6 vs 62.2; ICM was an effective tool for diagnosing underlying AF, capturing AF in 29% of the CS and TIA patients. AF was asymptomatic in most cases and would mainly have gone undiagnosed without ICM. The insertion and use of ICM was feasible for stroke physicians in stroke units.

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© The Author(s) 2022.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: DA has received honoraria from Actelion, Amgen, AstraZeneca, BMS/Pfizer, Bayer, Boehringer-Ingelheim, MSD, Novartis, Roche Diagnostics, Sanofi and Vifor Pharma; and research grants from BMS/Pfizer, Bayer, Roche Diagnostics and Medtronic. AHA has received travel support and honoraria for advice or lecturing from Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, BMS, Allergan, Teva, Sanofi-Genzyme, Novartis, Roche and Teva; and research grant from Boehringer Ingelheim. BRT and ATL have received travel funding from Medtronic.