Predictors of Complex Aortic Plaques in Patients Undergoing Transoesophageal Echocardiography

Abstract

Introduction: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most important causes of ischaemic stroke according to the TOAST classification. The CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc score is a widely used scoring system for estimating systemic thromboembolism in patients with non-valvular AF. TOAST classification indicates that an ischaemic stroke may also be due to large artery atherosclerosis. Since some of the atherosclerotic risk factors also occur in the CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc scoring system, we hypothesised that this scoring system can also predict the presence of complex aortic plaques and their stroke risk.