Arrhythmias & electrophysiology
Cryptogenic stroke in women: impact of insertable cardiac monitoring in the STROKEWISE cohort study
Main finding · AF detectionResult — go to the resultOdds ratio 6.9 95% CI 3.7–13.5Authors' conclusion
ICM increased AF detection and enabled safe anticoagulation in women with acute cryptogenic stroke. Although stroke recurrence did not differ significantly, signals of lower mortality and major bleeding support prolonged monitoring to optimize secondary prevention.
Study context
- Population
- Women with cryptogenic stroke, Norwegian Stroke Registry, 2016–23
- Participants
- 475 women
- Exposure
- Insertable cardiac monitoring (ICM) vs standard non-invasive follow-up
- ICMn = 262
- Outcome
- Atrial fibrillation (AF) detection and recurrent stroke
- Follow-up
- 1 and 2 years
Methodological detailstwo-centre, registry-based, multivariable-adjusted
- Two-centre
- Registry-based
- Multivariable-adjusted
Main finding
AF detection
Odds ratio
6.9
95% CI 3.7–13.5
P < 0.001
By group
ICM vs Control
OR 6.9 (95% CI 3.7–13.5); P < 0.001
As reported in the abstract
- No significant difference in recurrent stroke (HR 1.8, 95% CI 0.78-4.36)
- P = 0.17
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Secondary outcomes
| Outcome | OR (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-year mortality (fixed-time analysis) | 0.40 (0.16–0.94) | P = 0.036 | |
| 0.10.31310Odds ratio (log scale) |
Mortality · median follow-up 42 months
- No significant difference in mortality (HR 0.88, 95% CI 0.58-1.58)
- P = 0.88
Composite stroke and mortality · median follow-up 42 months
- No significant difference in the composite outcome (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.6-1.5)
- P = 0.85
Safety
| Outcome | OR (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bleeding events (fixed-time analysis)Fewer with ICM | 0.19 (0.06–0.52) | P = 0.002 | |
| 0.050.21520Odds ratio (log scale) |
Original publication
Cryptogenic stroke in women: impact of insertable cardiac monitoring in the STROKEWISE cohort study. Europace. Published 23 March 2026. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it