Left ventricular wall motion abnormality is associated with cryptogenic stroke

Background: Left ventricular wall motion abnormality (LVWMA) unrelated to known cardiac risk factors is an uncertain risk for stroke. Aims: We evaluated whether LVWMA was associated with cryptogenic stroke. Methods: This retrospective, observational study included 4316 acute ischemic stroke patients, and the association between cryptogenic stroke and LVWMA was examined in comparison with other stroke subtypes. Results: The prevalence of LVWMA was 10.0% in the study population. In a fully adjusted, binary logistic regression, LVWMA was independently associated with cryptogenic stroke compared with stroke from large artery atherosclerosis (odds ratio = 1.627, 95% confidence interval = 1.129–2.345), small vessel occlusion (odds ratio = 1.948, 95% confidence interval = 1.261–3.010), or other causes (odds ratio = 4.950, 95% confidence interval = 1.145–21.412). Meanwhile, the association of LVWMA with cryptogenic stroke was similar to the associations of LVWMA with cardioembolic stroke (odds ratio = 0.758, 95% confidence interval = 0.525–1.094) and stroke with two or more causes (odds ratio = 0.992, 95% confidence interval = 0.609–1.615). In multinomial regression, LVWMA had the strongest association with cardioembolic stroke, followed by cryptogenic stroke and stroke from two or more causes. The strength of the associations with LVWMA then decreased sequentially in patients with large artery atherosclerosis, small vessel occlusion, and other causes. Conclusions: The association of LVWMA with cryptogenic stroke was comparable to that of LVWMA with cardioembolic stroke but stronger than that of LVWMA with non-cardioembolic stroke. LVWMA unrelated to known cardiac risk factors could be considered an independent risk factor for cryptogenic stroke.