Association of CHADS(2) and CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc Scores with Left Atrial Thrombus with Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation: A Single Center Based Retrospective Study in a Cohort of 2695 Chinese Subjects

The main mechanism of the CHADS(2) and CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc scores to predict stroke in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) is still controversial. We evaluated the association of the CHADS(2) and CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc scores with left atrial thrombus (LAT) as detected by transesophageal echocardiographic (TEE) and compared the predictive ability of these risk stratification schemes with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Data from 2,695 consecutive NVAF patients in whom TEE was performed for screening LAT from July 2007 to February 2014 were analyzed. Only 3% of the subjects had LAT. Presence of LAT was not significantly associated with either CHADS(2) (P = 0.07) or CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc score (P = 0.12). The area under the curve (AUC) concerning LAT prediction using CHADS(2) and CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc was 0.574 and 0.569, respectively. A composition model includes previous stroke or transient ischemic attack, nonparoxysmal AF, moderate to severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction, left atrial enlargement, and cardiomyopathy which improved the discrimination significantly (AUC = 0.743). In our cohort, both CHADS(2) and CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc scores were of limited value for predicting LAT in patients with NVAF. This questions the CHADS(2)/CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc score predicting stroke mainly through the mechanism of cardiogenic embolism. A scoring scheme combining clinical and echocardiographic parameters may better predict LAT as a surrogate for cardioembolic risk in NVAF patients.