Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: High frequency of embolic brain infarction in elderly autopsy patients

Abstract

We examined brains clinicopathologically from 54 consecutive paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) patients aged 70 years or older and compared them with those of 59 age-matched controls. Symptomatic cerebral infarctions were present in 29 PAF patients (53.7%) and in 13 controls (22.0%) (p < 0.001). Symptomatic brain infarction was 2.4 times more common in PAF cases than in PAF-free controls; approximately 60% of the infarctions in the PAF cases were judged to be cardioembolic in origin. PAF in the elderly can be an important cause for cardiogenic cerebral embolism.