Stroke and atrial fibrillation.

Stroke and Atrial Fibrillation To the EditorIt is most interesting to note that two articles 1 -2 in the same issue of Stroke on atrial fibrillation and stroke reported opposite results.Candelise et al 1 found that atrial fibrillation is a negative prognostic factor, independent of age.On the other hand, Friedman 2 found that the apparently poorer survival in those patients with atrial fibrillation could be explained by factors other than cardiac arrhythmia, and that atrial fibrillation was not an independent predictor of survival after stroke.Both articles dealt with elderly subjects, but their ages were comparable (73.6±9^! vs. 152±1S 1 years).It seems obvious that the issue of mortality in stroke with atrial fibrillation is far from being settled and further study is needed.