Dr. Stephen J. Marks serves as a vascular neurologist at Neurology Associates of Westchester and directs the stroke program at Westchester Medical Center. Also a member of the hospital's ad hoc committee on algorithm development for cryptogenic stroke, Dr. Stephen J. Marks stands out as lead author of a paper on cryptogenic stroke that appears in the journal Cardiology in Review.
For most patients, stroke develops as a result of a blood clot to the brain. For others, the cause is hemorrhagic, meaning that there is bleeding in a blood vessel. As many as 30 percent of patients, however, experience a stroke of unknown cause.
These events are known as cryptogenic stroke. Research into the potential causes of these strokes have identified a type of irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation as a likely contributing factor. This means that evaluation of cardiac rhythm is becoming a crucial factor in the prevention of future strokes.
A recent study has revealed that the introduction of a subcutaneous heart monitor can help medical teams track a patient's cardiac rhythms for as long as three years. In the study, a research team placed monitors under the skin of patients who were undergoing evaluation for cryptogenic stroke. In 30 percent of participants, the devices indicated previously undetected atrial fibrillation, while such events came to light in less than 2 percent of control patients.
Among those patients whose devices identified atrial fibrillation, 97 percent received a prescription for anti-clotting drugs. Researchers believe that such long-term monitoring could become a crucial component of post-cryptogenic stroke assessment and care.
