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Review
. 2016 May;18(2):129-37.
doi: 10.5853/jos.2016.00234. Epub 2016 May 31.

The Mechanism of and Preventive Therapy for Stroke in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation

Young-Hoon Kim  1 , Seung-Young Roh  1
Affiliations
Review

The Mechanism of and Preventive Therapy for Stroke in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation

Young-Hoon Kim et al. J Stroke. 2016 May.

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation is a major cardiac cause of stroke, and a pathogenesis involving thrombus formation in patients with atrial fibrillation is well established. A strategy for rhythm control that involves catheter ablation and anticoagulation therapy is evolving. A strategy for rhythm control that restores and maintains sinus rhythm should reduce the risk of ischemic stroke that is associated with atrial fibrillation; however, this is yet to be proven in large-scale randomized controlled trials. This paper reviews the emerging role of rhythm control therapy for atrial fibrillation to prevent stroke.

Keywords: Atrial fibrillation; Catheter ablation; Ischemic stroke; Rhythm control; Thromboembolism.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no financial conflicts of interest.

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