Background and Purpose— Many ischemic strokes or transient ischemic attacks are labeled cryptogenic but may have undetected atrial fibrillation (AF). We sought to identify those most likely to have subclinical AF. Methods— We prospectively studied patients with cryptogenic stroke or transient ischemic attack aged ≥55 years in sinus rhythm, without known AF, enrolled in the intervention arm of the 30 Day Event Monitoring Belt for Recording Atrial Fibrillation After a Cerebral Ischemic Event (EMBRACE) trial. Participants underwent baseline 24-hour Holter ECG poststroke; if AF was not detected, they were randomly assigned to 30-day ECG monitoring with an AF auto-detect external loop recorder. Multivariable logistic regression assessed the association between baseline variables (Holter-detected atrial premature beats [APBs], runs of atrial tachycardia, age, and left atrial enlargement) and subsequent AF detection. Results— Among 237 participants, the median baseline Holter APB count/24 h was 629 (interquartile range, 142–1973) among those who subsequently had AF detected versus 45 (interquartile range, 14–250) in those without AF ( P <0.001). APB count was the only significant predictor of AF detection by 30-day ECG ( P <0.0001), and at 90 days ( P =0.0017) and 2 years ( P =0.0027). Compared with the 16% overall 90-day AF detection rate, the probability of AF increased from <9% among patients with <100 APBs/24 h to 9% to 24% in those with 100 to 499 APBs/24 h, 25% to 37% with 500 to 999 APBs/24 h, 37% to 40% with 1000 to 1499 APBs/24 h, and 40% beyond 1500 APBs/24 h. Conclusions— Among older cryptogenic stroke or transient ischemic attack patients, the number of APBs on a routine 24-hour Holter ECG was a strong dose-dependent independent predictor of prevalent subclinical AF. Those with frequent APBs have a high probability of AF and represent ideal candidates for prolonged ECG monitoring for AF detection. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT00846924.

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Introduction: Periodontal disease (PD) is associated with incident and recurrent ischemic stroke. We investigated whether PD is associated with specific stroke subtype. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, PD was assessed in ischemic stroke and TIA patients. Moderate-severe PD was determined by full-mouth examination by a dentist. Clinical information including stroke etiological subtype (TOAST) was collected at admission. Based on vascular imaging, strokes caused by large-artery atherothrombosis were further analyzed to distinguish those caused by either intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS) or extracranial atherosclerosis (ECAS). They were also classified as anterior or posterior circulation disease. Results: Consecutive patients (N=265) were enrolled (age 64 ± 12.8, 49% white, 46% black, 5% other and 56% male) between 2015-17. A third (N=87) were found to have PD. Twenty percent (N=42) of strokes were caused by large-artery atherothrombosis. In this group, there was a significantly higher proportion of patients with PD compared with those without PD (24% vs.12%, X 2 p=0.01). Patients with PD also had a significantly higher proportion (12% vs 5%) of stroke due to posterior circulation disease (crude OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.1-7.9, p=0.03), not anterior circulation disease (14% vs. 7%; crude OR 2.2, 95% CI 0.9-5.2, p=0.08). This association with posterior circulation disease persisted after adjustment for age, race, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, smoking status, coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, and hemoglobin A1C (adjusted OR 3.1 95% CI 1.04-9.1, p=0.004). In addition, those with PD had a significantly higher rate of stroke due to ICAS compared to those without PD (20% vs. 8%; crude OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.3-5.6, p=0.01), while there was no significant difference between the groups for strokes due to ECAS (9% vs. 3%; crude OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.0-8.7, p=0.06). PD remained significantly associated with ICAS after adjustment for the same covariates (adjusted OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.1-5.8, p=0.004). Conclusion: We report a significantly higher proportion of stroke due to large-artery atherothrombosis in patients with PD compared to those without PD. We report an independent association between PD and ICAS, as well as posterior circulation disease.