Open AccessPartitioning risk factors for embolic stroke of undetermined source using exploratory factor analysis
Author(s) -
Jon Perkins,
Naveed Akhtar,
Rajvir Singh,
Assad Kamran,
Saadat K. Ilyas
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of stroke
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.375
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1747-4949
pISSN - 1747-4930
DOI - 10.1177/17474930211009847
Subject(s) - medicine , stroke (engine) , aortic arch , embolic stroke , cardiology , risk factor , ejection fraction , exploratory factor analysis , aorta , ischemic stroke , heart failure , mechanical engineering , clinical psychology , ischemia , engineering , psychometrics
Background Embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS) accounts for up to 25% of strokes. Understanding risk factors associated with ESUS is important in reducing stroke burden worldwide. However, ESUS patients are younger and present with fewer traditional risk factors. Significant global variation in ESUS populations also exists making the clinical picture of this type of stroke unclear.Methods and results ESUS patients were pair matched for age, sex, and ethnicity with a group of all other strokes (both n = 331). Exploratory factor analysis was applied in both groups to 14 risk and clinical factors to identify latent factors. In ESUS patients, two latent factors emerged consisting primarily of heart-related variables such as left ventricular wall motion abnormalities, reduced ejection fraction, and increased left atrial volume index, as well as aortic arch atherosclerosis. This is in comparison to the all other strokes group, which was dominated by traditional stroke risk factors.Conclusions Our findings support the existence of a unique pattern of risk factors specific to ESUS. We show that LVWMA and corresponding changes in left heart function are a potential source of emboli in these patients. In addition, the clustering of aortic arch atherosclerosis with left heart factors suggests a causal link. Through the application of exploratory factor analysis, this work contributes to a further understanding of stroke mechanisms in ESUS.