Special magnetic resonance image was able to identify the risk of stroke in people with atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is a heart rhythm disorder that affects millions of people. It can make you feel bad. What's worse, it can cause potentially disabling or fatal strokes.  

A special MRI may - emphasize "may" - help identify people with atrial fibrillation who are at high risk of having a stroke. This could help many people with this condition to avoid taking warfarin or other drugs to prevent formation of clots life.

A normal heartbeat starts in a group of cells called pacemakers. It is located on the upper right part of the heart (the right atrium).  

These cells generate a pulse of electricity that flows to the rest of the heart and causes a coordinated heartbeat. In people with atrial fibrillation, the electrical signals are due to areas outside the pacemaker.  

These signals are fast and irregular. So instead of hiring at a steady pace, the right and left atria quiver. This can allow blood in the atria instead of flowing smoothly through the heart and body.
When blood pools in the atria, it can form small clots. If one breaks away in the heart and enters the circulation, it may occur in the brain, causing a stroke.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine wanted to see if the image could identify people with atrial fibrillation who were at high risk of stroke. They conducted standard MRI hearts of 149 men and women with atrial fibrillation, and use special software for motion tracking to evaluate images.  

Analyses revealed specific changes in the muscles of the left atrium, which increased the risk of stroke in certain volunteers. These changes are not associated with age or other stroke risk factors. The results were published online April 27 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Calculating the risk of stroke in atrial fibrillation

It would be nice to have a way to identify individuals with atrial fibrillation are at high risk of stroke and are at low risk. The Hopkins study provides a step in that direction. But it is too early to include MRI as part of the standard evaluation of people with atrial fibrillation - not to mention that these scans significantly increase the cost of these evaluations. For now, doctors continue to use standard tools to help determine the risk of stroke. 

If you have atrial fibrillation, the risk of stroke is higher if you:

 1.   They are 65 years old or more, and even more if you have 75 years or more

 2.   They had a stroke or mini stroke stroke (transient ischemic attack or TIA) in the past

 3.   It has heart failure

 4.   Have blood vessels throughout the body shrunk by presented cholesterol plate (vascular disease)

 5.   He has diabetes

 6.   She is a woman.
Experts have developed a tool called the CHA2DS2-VASc score to calculate the risk of stroke in people with atrial fibrillation. It is estimated that this risk taking into account age and sex; the presence or absence of heart failure, hypertension, constriction of blood vessels, and diabetes; and if you have had a previous stroke, TIA, or blood clots. A low score indicates that may not be necessary warfarin or other blood-thinning medications. 

You can calculate your CHA2DS2 VASc-line score.

A day, the use of MRI or other technique at the image of the heart is probably important in the assessment of atrial fibrillation. But not in the short term.
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