The role of atrial fibrillation on mortality and morbidity in patients with ischaemic stroke.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the impact of atrial fibrillation on mortality and morbidity in ischaemic stroke patients. METHODS The retrospective study was conducted at the Neurology Clinic, Faculty of Medicine, Yuzuncu Yil University, Van, Turkey, and comprised records of ischaemic stroke patients hospitalised between January 2006 and September 2009. SPSS 13 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS Of the 404 patients in the study, 69 (17.1%) had atrial fibrilation. The mean age of such patients was 66.78 +/- 12.23 years compared to 61.01 +/- 15.11 years for the rest. Besides 47 (68.1%) of these patients were females. According to the modified Rankin Scale scores, the degree of disability was significantly higher at the time of arrival and discharge, and mortality rates were significantly higher also (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION Atrial fibrillation affected the prognosis of ischaemic stroke adversely in terms of mortality and morbidity.