Study Results
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Basic Information
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RECRUITING
900 participants
OBSERVATIONAL
2025-12-17
2027-12-31
Brief Summary
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AF is known to develop from disease of the left atrium, the upper chamber of the heart that receives blood from the lungs. When the left atrium does not contract normally, blood flow may slow down, increasing the risk of clot formation. Nowadays, the left atrial (LA) function can be quantified precisely using a noninvasive ultrasound technique called strain imaging.
This study aims to determine whether reduced LA function is associated with cryptogenic stroke and its recurrence even when AF is not observed. If such an association is confirmed, LA strain could serve as a new biomarker to identify patients at risk, earlier than the development of overt AF, enhance preventive measures to reduce recurrent strokes. Because echocardiographic strain imaging is safe, cost-effective, and widely available, it may become an important tool for improving care in this high-risk population.
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Detailed Description
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This multicenter retrospective study aims to determine whether impaired LA strain, a sensitive echocardiographic measure of atrial function, is associated with cryptogenic stroke and can predict recurrent events. Echocardiographic images of the patients who were referred to the echocardiography laboratory as part of stroke work up will be analyzed offline, using standardized speckle-tracking software. De-identified clinical and imaging data will be collected in the central core laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh for uniform analysis and validation.
By establishing LA strain as a biomarker of atrial cardiopathy and cryptogenic stroke risk, this study seeks to bridge the current gap between stroke classification and management. Demonstrating the independent association between LA dysfunction and cryptogenic stroke and the recurrence of cryptogenic stroke independently of AF could support the use of LA strain as a risk marker to for monitoring patient and developing preventive strategies such as anticoagulation without documented AF. Hence, our findings may improve preventive care and reduce the burden of disabilities due to cryptogenic stroke.
Conditions
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Study Design
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COHORT
RETROSPECTIVE
Study Groups
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Cryptogenic Stroke Cohort
Subjects in sinus rhythm who had a diagnosis of ischemic embolic stroke in whom no clear embolic source was identified after standard diagnostic evaluation (TOAST classification: Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source) and who had transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) as part of the stroke work up will constitute the first group.
No interventions assigned to this group
Non-Cryptogenic Stroke Cohort (Comparator Group)
Subjects in sinus rhythm who had a non-cryptogenic stroke (e.g., large artery atherosclerosis, small vessel disease, hemorrhagic) and who underwent transthoracic echocardiography as part of the clinical stroke workup.
This group will serve as a comparator for the primary analysis to determine whether LA strain determines cryptogenic stroke among other stroke subtypes.
No interventions assigned to this group
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
2- Patients with an established diagnosis of stroke by stroke neurologists.
3- Patients in sinus rhythm documented at the time of referral.
4- Availability of adequate echocardiographic images for strain quantification.
5- Clinical follow-up data available for evaluation of study endpoints, including stroke recurrence, atrial fibrillation development, and mortality.
6- Patients from collaborating centers will be included with de-identified echocardiographic images and clinical data meeting the above criteria.
Exclusion Criteria
2 -Structural heart disease: Patients with significant structural abnormalities, such as moderate or severe mitral stenosis, moderate or severe mitral regurgitation, prosthetic heart valves, devices in the left atrium, atrial septal defect or patent foramen ovale will be excluded as these conditions are known causes of stroke and abnormal left atrial function.
3- Coagulopathy: Patient having disease leading to hypercoagulable (thrombus formation) state will be excluded (presence of cancer, antiphospholipid antibodies, hematological diseases).
4- Inadequate clinical follow-up: Patients with insufficient follow-up data or missing medical records that preclude evaluation of study endpoints (e.g., stroke recurrence, AF development) will be excluded unless death is documented.
5- Poor image quality for strain analysis: Patients having echo exams with inadequate image quality that prevent reliable strain quantification will be excluded.
\-
18 Years
ALL
No
Sponsors
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University of Pittsburgh
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Leyla Sade
Professor of Medicine
Principal Investigators
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Leyla E Sade, MD
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Locations
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UPMC Presbyterian
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Countries
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Central Contacts
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Facility Contacts
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References
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Maheshwari A, Norby FL, Inciardi RM, Wang W, Zhang MJ, Soliman EZ, Alonso A, Johansen MC, Gottesman RF, Solomon SD, Shah AM, Chen LY. Left Atrial Mechanical Dysfunction and the Risk for Ischemic Stroke in People Without Prevalent Atrial Fibrillation or Stroke : A Prospective Cohort Study. Ann Intern Med. 2023 Jan;176(1):39-48. doi: 10.7326/M22-1638. Epub 2022 Dec 20.
Masini G, Wang W, Ji Y, Eaton A, Inciardi RM, Soliman EZ, Passman RS, Solomon SD, Shah AM, De Caterina R, Chen LY. Markers of Left Atrial Myopathy: Prognostic Usefulness for Ischemic Stroke and Dementia in People in Sinus Rhythm. Stroke. 2025 Apr;56(4):858-867. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.124.047747. Epub 2025 Mar 7.
Sade LE, Keskin S, Can U, Colak A, Yuce D, Ciftci O, Ozin B, Muderrisoglu H. Left atrial mechanics for secondary prevention from embolic stroke of undetermined source. Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2022 Feb 22;23(3):381-391. doi: 10.1093/ehjci/jeaa311.
Sade LE, Faletra FF, Pontone G, Gerber BLM, Muraru D, Edvardsen T, Cosyns B, Popescu BA, Klein A, Marwick TH, Cameli M, Saric M, Thomas L, Ajmone Marsan N, Fontes-Carvalho R, Podlesnikar T, Fontana M, La Gerche A, Petersen SE, Moharem-Elgamal S, Bittencourt MS, Vannan MA, Glikson M, Peichl P, Cochet H, Stankovic I, Donal E, Thomas D, Marta RS. The role of multi-modality imaging for the assessment of left atrium and left atrial appendage: a clinical consensus statement of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI), European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2025 Mar 3;26(3):385-413. doi: 10.1093/ehjci/jeaf014. Erratum In: Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2025 Aug 29;26(9):1591. doi: 10.1093/ehjci/jeaf211.
Clark A, Ferkh A, Vandenberg J, Elhindi J, Thomas L. Altered left atrial metrics in patients with cryptogenic stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Clin Invest. 2024 Jun;54(6):e14175. doi: 10.1111/eci.14175. Epub 2024 Feb 2.
Ozbay B, Rearick C, Satyavolu BS, Soman P, Wong TC, Starr M, Pillai B, Zhu J, Azhar AZ, Katz WE, Sade LE. Primary Left Atrial Cardiopathy in Transthyretin Amyloidosis Cardiomyopathy by Multimodality Imaging: Implications for Thrombotic Events. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2025 Aug;18(8):867-881. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2025.04.007. Epub 2025 Jul 3.
Habibi M, Lima JA, Khurram IM, Zimmerman SL, Zipunnikov V, Fukumoto K, Spragg D, Ashikaga H, Rickard J, Marine JE, Calkins H, Nazarian S. Association of left atrial function and left atrial enhancement in patients with atrial fibrillation: cardiac magnetic resonance study. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. 2015 Feb;8(2):e002769. doi: 10.1161/CIRCIMAGING.114.002769.
Goldberger JJ, Arora R, Green D, Greenland P, Lee DC, Lloyd-Jones DM, Markl M, Ng J, Shah SJ. Evaluating the Atrial Myopathy Underlying Atrial Fibrillation: Identifying the Arrhythmogenic and Thrombogenic Substrate. Circulation. 2015 Jul 28;132(4):278-91. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.016795.
Kamel H, Longstreth WT Jr, Tirschwell DL, Kronmal RA, Marshall RS, Broderick JP, Aragon Garcia R, Plummer P, Sabagha N, Pauls Q, Cassarly C, Dillon CR, Di Tullio MR, Hod EA, Soliman EZ, Gladstone DJ, Healey JS, Sharma M, Chaturvedi S, Janis LS, Krishnaiah B, Nahab F, Kasner SE, Stanton RJ, Kleindorfer DO, Starr M, Winder TR, Clark WM, Miller BR, Elkind MSV; ARCADIA Investigators. Apixaban to Prevent Recurrence After Cryptogenic Stroke in Patients With Atrial Cardiopathy: The ARCADIA Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2024 Feb 20;331(7):573-581. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.27188.
Kleindorfer DO, Towfighi A, Chaturvedi S, Cockroft KM, Gutierrez J, Lombardi-Hill D, Kamel H, Kernan WN, Kittner SJ, Leira EC, Lennon O, Meschia JF, Nguyen TN, Pollak PM, Santangeli P, Sharrief AZ, Smith SC Jr, Turan TN, Williams LS. 2021 Guideline for the Prevention of Stroke in Patients With Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack: A Guideline From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke. 2021 Jul;52(7):e364-e467. doi: 10.1161/STR.0000000000000375. Epub 2021 May 24. No abstract available.
Other Identifiers
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STUDY25010088
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id
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