Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of Patients, Stratified by Stroke Subtype
| Characteristic* | Overall (N=55) | Cardioembolic (N=21) | Undetermined Etiology (N=34) | P value† |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD), years | 71.9(15.1) | 71.3(15.8) | 72.4(14.8) | 0.80 |
| Female | 36 (65.5) | 16(76.2) | 20 (58.8) | 0.19 |
| Race: | 0.66 | |||
| White | 49(89.1) | 20 (95.2) | 29 (85.3) | |
| Black | 4 (7.3) | 1 (4.8) | 3 (8.8) | |
| Other | 2 (3.6) | 0(0) | 2 (5.9) | |
| Insurance: | 0.77 | |||
| Commercial | 13 (23.6) | 5 (23.8) | 8 (23.5) | |
| Medicare | 26 (47.3) | 11 (52.4) | 15(44.1) | |
| Medicaid | 16(29.1) | 5 (23.8) | 11 (32.4) | |
| Atrial fibrillation | 19 (34.6) | 16(76.2) | 3 (8.8)‡ | <0.001 |
| Congestive heart failure | 7(12.7) | 7 (33.3) | 0 (0.0) | 0.001 |
| Coronary heart disease | 11 (20.0) | 5 (23.8) | 6(17.7) | 0.58 |
| Valvular disease | 1 (1.8) | 1 (4.8) | 0(0) | 0.38 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 2 (3.6) | 2 (9.5) | 0(0) | 0.14 |
| Diabetes | 15(27.3) | 5 (23.8) | 10 (29.4) | 0.65 |
| Hypertension | 39 (70.9) | 13(61.9) | 26 (76.5) | 0.25 |
| Dyslipidemia | 31 (56.4) | 10(47.6) | 21 (61.8) | 0.30 |
| Prior stroke | 12(21.8) | 5 (23.8) | 7 (20.6) | 0.99 |
| Active tobacco use | 3 (5.5) | 1 (4.8) | 2 (5.9) | 0.99 |
| Intravenous thrombolysis | 8(14.6) | 4(19.1) | 4(11.8) | 0.46 |
| NIHSS score, median (IQR) | 4(3–12) | 6(5–14) | 4(2–7) | 0.09 |
| 12-lead electrocardiogram | 55(100.0) | 21 (100.0) | 34(100.0) | 0.99 |
| Heart-rhythm monitoring for ≥24 hrs | 55(100.0) | 21 (100.0) | 34(100.0) | 0.99 |
| Echocardiogram | 48 (87.3) | 15(71.4) | 33(97.1) | 0.01 |
| Echocardiogram type: | 0.62 | |||
| Transthoracic | 42 (87.5) | 13 (86.7) | 29 (87.9) | |
| Transesophageal | 2 (4.2) | 0(0) | 2(6.1) | |
| Both | 4 (8.3) | 2(13.3) | 2(6.1) | |
| Extracranial vascular imaging | 55(100.0) | 21 (100.0) | 34(100.0) | 0.99 |
| Intracranial vascular imaging | 55(100.0) | 21 (100.0) | 34(100.0) | 0.99 |
| Time to head CT, mean (SD), days | 0.9(1.1) | 1.4 (1.3) | 0.6 (0.7) | 0.01 |
Abbreviations: CT, computed tomography; IQR, interquartile range; NIHSS, NIH Stroke Scale; SD, standard deviation.
*
All data are presented as numbers (%) unless otherwise indicated.
†
P value by chi-square/Fisher's exact or t-test/Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney, where appropriate.
‡
Despite the presence of atrial fibrillation, these three cases were adjudicated as being of undetermined etiology due to multiple potential causes of stroke.