Cardioembolic (CE)
stroke is the most severe subtype of
ischemic stroke with high recurrence and mortality. However, there is still little information on the association of plasma
fatty acid (FA) with CE
stroke. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis whether the composition of plasma
phospholipid FA is associated with the risk of CE
stroke. The study subjects were collected from the Korea University
Stroke Registry. Twenty-one subjects were selected as CE
stroke group, and 39 age- and sex-matched subjects with non-CE
stroke were selected as controls. Sociodemographic factors, clinical measurements, and plasma
phospholipid FA compositions were compared between the groups. Logistic regression was used to obtain estimates of the associations between the relevant FAs and CE
stroke. The result showed that the CE
stroke group had higher levels of free FA and lower levels of
triglycerides before and after adjustment (all P < .05). In the regression analysis,
elaidic acid (18:1Tn9) and
arachidonic acid (20:4n6) were positively related, but
lignoceric acid (24:0) was negatively related to CE
stroke in all constructed models (all P < .05). In conclusion, plasma
phospholipid FA composition was associated with CE
stroke risk in Korean population, with higher proportions of
elaidic acid and
arachidonic acid and lower proportion of
lignoceric acid in CE
stroke.