Ischaemic stroke in heart failure: back to basics?

Approximately 2%–3% of patients with heart failure (HF) will sustain a stroke; an outcome considered by many to be worse than death.1 Not only are these events twofold to threefold more common in patients with HF, over half of the strokes are life-threatening or severely disabling2 and compared with the general population are associated with longer hospital stays and higher rates of mortality.3 Although atrial fibrillation (AF) and HF are linked...