Researchers report high rate of atrial fibrillation after central retinal artery occlusion

USA: Patients with central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) have a higher rate of atrial fibrillation (AF) as detected by using long-term cardiac monitoring, researchers report in Stroke -- the official publication of the American Heart Association. The higher rate of AF in CRAO patients was comparable to stroke patients. 

Central retinal artery occlusion is a form of acute ischemic stroke that can cause sudden, irreversible blindness. Brian Mac Grory, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, and colleagues aimed to determine the proportion of patients in whom atrial fibrillation is detected by extended cardiac monitoring after CRAO.

For this purpose, the researchers performed a retrospective, observational cohort study. They used data from the Optum deidentified electronic health record of 30.8 million people cross-referenced with the Medtronic CareLink database of 2.7 million people with cardiac monitoring devices in situ. The patients were enrolled in 3 groups: (1) CRAO, (2) cerebral ischemic stroke, and (3) age-, sex-, and comorbidity-matched controls.