Cardiology researchers uncover new evidence that relates to increased risk of stroke

Cardiology researchers at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (TQEH) have uncovered new evidence that relates to patients with new onset atrial fibrillation (AF) and their increased risk of stroke.

University of Adelaide researcher based at The Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Heath Research, Dr Nathan Procter has found that patients with new onset AF have changes in their blood and platelets which potentially put them at even higher stroke risk than chronic AF patients.

“By studying blood samples of patients with early onset AF, my research found there was impaired response to a particular signalling molecule that acts to limit the formation of blood clots, thus increasing the risk of inappropriate clot formation,” Dr Procter said.

“Current methods of identifying AF patients at high risk of stroke focus on clinical presentation; reliable biochemical markers of stroke risk are still being investigated, which is what I examined in this study.

“This is a remarkable finding, as the physiological mechanisms as to why new onset AF patients are at particularly high risk of stroke are not completely understood,” he said.

“Stroke is an incredible burden. Often if people survive there is a long road to recovery, with significant impact on family and friends,” Dr Procter said.

“I hope this finding can really increase the urgency of treating patients’ risk of stroke when they are admitted to hospital with early onset AF.”

Professor John Horowitz, head of Cardiology at TQEH, said:

This tells us that we need to impress on treating doctors the likelihood that early anticoagulation (agents used to prevent the formation of blood clots), should be routine once AF appears.

We plan to do a follow-up study in patients with stroke in collaboration with the TQEH Stroke Unit, primarily to further emphasize this point.