Association of inferior division MCA stroke location with populations with atrial fibrillation incidence

Background and Aim: Considering the anatomical features of Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) bifurcation, larger emboli are more likely to enter the inferior division over the superior division. Since emboli of cardiac origin are larger on average than emboli of arterial origin, we hypothesize that the infarcts in temporal and parietal lobes are more likely associated to atrial fibrillation than those in the frontal lobes, therefore occurring more often in populations with higher incidence of atrial fibrillation, such as male (compared to women) and white (compared to black) patients.