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Silent cerebral infarctions (SCIs) and cerebral white matter lesions with no obvious neurological symptoms occur increasingly with age. If present in large numbers, these lesions can produce decline in cognitive functions, psychological symptoms such as depression, and a high probability of future stroke. Nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients have a higher rate of silent cerebral infarctions than control patients in several, but not all, studies. Now researchers have performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of primarily nonprospective studies to estimate the association between AF and SCIs and the prevalence of SCIs in patients with AF and no history of symptomatic stroke.
Eleven studies with adjusted risk estimates were rev…