An interventional study of Cardiac and Brain MRI in Atrial Fibrillation, Stroke and Stroke, Cardiovascular, sponsored by Tulane University. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 120 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-03-05.
Sponsored by Tulane University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Diagnostic
Demonstrating the pathophysiological link between Left Atrial (LA) and Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) pathology and embolic strokes in non-Atrial Fibrillation (AF) individuals represents a major advance in stroke prevention strategies. Instead of relying on non-specific criteria for stroke risk assessment, the investigators propose to identify individuals with high-risk of embolic stroke using imaging criteria that reflect the underlying pathophysiology of embolic stroke of cardiac origin. the investigators can therefore lay the groundwork for future anticoagulation strategies for stroke prevention beyond AF.
The investigators propose a cross-sectional cohort study, where individuals with no history of AF and with a Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age ≥ 75 years, Diabetes mellitus, Stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category score (CHA2DS2VASC) ≥3, type II diabetes, congestive heart failure or a history of stroke/TIA will be included. Data on demographics, personal health habits, medications, and medical history will be obtained by interviewing participants and reviewing the electronic medical records. All participants will undergo a Cardiac Magnetic Resonance imaging (CMR) to assess for markers of LA and LAA pathology. Markers of LA and LAA pathology that will be studied include: LA fibrosis level, LA functional parameters, LA shape characteristics, and LAA characteristics (including morphology, orifice area and flow velocity). Additionally, all participants will undergo a brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) at the same visit to assess for the presence of embolic-appearing brain infarcts, regardless of previous stroke-related symptoms.
The investigators will analyze the association between each cardiac imaging feature and the prevalence of embolic-appearing strokes on brain MRI to determine whether patients with higher LA and LAA remodeled features are more likely to have embolic-appearing brain infarcts on MRI. The LA and LAA pathology imaging features with the strongest statistical association will be used to develop an imaging predictive score capable of identifying patients with the highest risk of embolic stroke.
All brain and cardiac imaging data will be assessed by experienced operators at Tulane Medical Center facilities. Operators analyzing CMR will be blinded to brain MRI results, and operators assessing brain MRI will be blinded to CMR results. The study will include a single center study at Tulane Medical Center and Clinics, with investigators from different medical specialties, and the proper facilities and equipment to conduct the project accurately and safely. The investigators expect a recruitment of 120 subjects over a period of 18 months from both cardiology and neurology clinics to complete the study.
4,009 studies on the registry are indexed under Atrial Fibrillation; 961 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 5 is below the median of 150 across 2,476 interventional studies indexed under Atrial Fibrillation.
Browse Atrial Fibrillation studies →Tulane University is the lead sponsor of 96 studies on the registry; 23 are open to participants now.
Of its 9 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 5 (56%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
A “mini-stroke”: temporary stroke-like symptoms caused by reduced blood flow to part of the brain, spinal cord or eye, without signs of a new stroke on a scan.
Stroke symptoms need emergency care at once, even if they go away.
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
TIA (transient ischaemic attack)
A “mini-stroke”: temporary stroke-like symptoms caused by reduced blood flow to part of the brain, spinal cord or eye, without signs of a new stroke on a scan.
Stroke symptoms need emergency care at once, even if they go away.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraindication
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
BMI (body mass index)
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
All patients will undergo a CMR to evaluate for LA and LAA high-risk features on either a 1.5 or 3 Tesla clinical MR scanner. Gadolinium injection will be administered. Gadolinium is a contrast product that helps define areas of fibrosis in the LA. High-resolution brain MRI with no contrast will include the following sequences for most accurate assessment of embolic lesions: 3D T1 MPRAGE, 3D FLAIR, DWI, ADC, and SWI
Device: Cardiac and Brain MRI
A CMR to evaluate for LA and LAA high-risk features on either a 1.5 or 3 Tesla clinical MR scanner will be used. Gadolinium injection will be administered. Gadolinium is a contrast product that helps define areas of fibrosis in the LA. High-resolution brain MRI with no contrast will include the following sequences for most accurate assessment of embolic lesions: 3D T1 MPRAGE, 3D FLAIR, DWI, ADC, and SWI
The presence of covert embolic cerebral infarcts
The covert embolic cerebral infarcts are defined as the presence of asymptomatic non-lacunar embolic infarct (acute or chronic based on MRI appearance), in the cortex, and juxtacortical regions, and cerebellum. They will be identified using brain MRI.
Time frame: Day1
Number of counts of lacunar covert infracts
Covert lacunar infarcts are asymptomatic infarct \< 15mm in greatest diameter in subcortical brain regions. They will be identified by size and location using brain MRI images.
Time frame: Day1
Number of counts of lacunar symptomatic infracts
Symptomatic lacunar infarcts are symptomatic infarct \< 15mm in greatest diameter in subcortical brain regions. They will be identified by size and location using brain MRI images.
Time frame: Day1
Number of counts of embolic symptomatic infracts
Symptomatic non-lacunar embolic infarcts are symptomatic infarcts of any size in the cortex or infarcts \>15 mm in greatest diameter in subcortical lesions. They will be identified by size and location using brain MRI images.
Time frame: Day1
Ran from Apr 2021 to primary completion in Jan 2026, 57 months.
Of 796 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Atrial Fibrillation, half reached primary completion within 40 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 21 and three quarters within 59. This study's 57 months is above that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 1,051 studies reached it within 33 months; a quarter within 18 and three quarters within 54.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is completed, as verified in Mar 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
Tulane University