Abstract
Background/Objectives
Stroke-related visual impairment and atrial fibrillation are both common following
stroke. This study explores whether presence of visual impairment following stroke
is associated with presence of atrial fibrillation (AF).
Subjects/Methods
The Impact of Visual Impairment after Stroke (IVIS) study is a multi-centre, acute
stroke unit, prospective epidemiology study. Standardised visual assessments included
visual acuity, reading, visual fields, eye movements and visual perception. AF and
blood pressure (BP) were measured on admission. Further data capture included stroke
type, age, gender, stroke severity. Analysis included descriptive statistics, independent
samples analysis and multivariate analysis for comparison of AF and visual impairment
against covariates.
Results
1500 stroke admissions were recruited of which 1204 stroke survivors had visual assessment.
New onset stroke-related visual impairment (n = 703) was significantly associated
with older age and stoke severity. AF and BP data were available for 889 stroke survivors.
AF was present on admission for 258 stroke survivors and significantly associated
with older age, stroke severity and discharge destination. A significant association
was found for presence of AF and presence of visual impairment. However, stroke severity
was a contributing factor for this association. High systolic BP (>140 mmHg) was present
in 62% and high diastolic BP (>90 mmHg) in 29%, but not associated with presence of
visual impairment.
Conclusions
AF and visual impairment, independently, occur commonly in stroke. Although our results
show an association between AF and visual impairment, this appears to be independently
influenced by stroke severity. AF was not associated with type of visual impairment
or extent of visual recovery. It remains unknown if AF causes more severe visual impairment.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 23, 2020
Accepted:
July 19,
2020
Received in revised form:
July 14,
2020
Received:
June 25,
2020
Identification
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2020.105186
Copyright
© 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
