Abstract
Factors which accelerate the development of cerebrovascular disease were analyzed among patients with various heart diseases associated with atrial fibrillation (AF). There were 172 patients with only AF, 136 patients with heart valvular disease associated with AF and 48 patients with ischemic heart disease associated with AF among 390 patients with various heart disease with AF. The incidences of ischemic cerebrovascular disease were approximately 25% among those patients with various heart diseases associated with AF. The incidence of ischemic cerebrovascular disease was statistically significantly higher in patients with chronic AF than in patients with paroxysmal AF. Also, in patients with only AF, the incidence of ischemic cerebrovascular disease increased statically signifficantly with age and increase of cardiothoracic ratio and was statistically significantly higher in the slow heart rate group than in the rapid. Therefore, to prevent effectively the development of ischemic cerebrovascular disease in patients with AF, it is important to analyszage, cardiothoracic ratio, heart rate and the type of AF (chronic or paroxysmal).
