Impact of Intracranial Atherosclerotic Stenosis on the Prognosis in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients with Cardioembolic Source.

Background and Aim: In recent days, intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (IAS) has been reportedly related to recurrent stroke and mortality in the total patient population with ischemic stroke. However, its impact on the prognosis of the patients with cardioembolic source is not yet established. This study attempted to investigate whether IAS was associated with poor outcome in stroke patients with cardioembolic source. Methods: Overall, 223 patients with acute ischemic stroke and cardioembolic source were included in this study. IAS was defined as >= 50% stenosis on enhanced MRA, and cardioembolic sources were detected by ECG and echocardiography. Follow-up data were obtained from outpatient medical records and/or telephone interviews. Results: Overall, 60 major clinical events causing poor outcome occurred in 58 patients (26.0%). Patients with IAS had significantly higher rates of death and stroke recurrence than those without IAS (p = 0.015 and 0.046 each by log rank test). The multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis showed that IAS was significantly related to the poor outcome (hazard ratio 1.725, 95% confidence interval 1.020-2.920, p = 0.042). Conclusions: In acute ischemic stroke patients with cardioembolic source, IAS may be considered a marker of a high risk of stroke recurrence or death. (C) 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel