Anticoagulation vs. Antiplatelet Therapy for Cryptogenic Stroke and Atrial Cardiopathy

Some patients with cryptogenic stroke have evidence of an atrial cardiopathy, a finding associated with incident atrial fibrillation as well as ischemic stroke risk even in the absence of clinically apparent atrial fibrillation. Anticoagulation reduces secondary stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation. Whether anticoagulation also benefits patients with atrial cardiopathy without atrial fibrillation has been unknown. To study this question, researchers enrolled patients with cryptogenic stroke who were 45 years of age or older and met criteria for embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS) with atrial cardiopathy after a standard workup that included a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) and at least 24 hours of continuous heart rhyt…