Prognostic usefulness of left ventricular thrombus by echocardiography in dilated cardiomyopathy in predicting stroke, transient ischemic attack, and death.

Echocardiograms of 290 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (ejection fraction < or =35%) were reviewed for the presence of left ventricular (LV) apical abnormalities; outcomes of stroke and death were then correlated with the presence of LV thrombus. During a follow-up of 31 months, 15 patients had a stroke or transient ischemic attack after the index echocardiogram (5.2%). Patients with LV thrombus on echocardiography had a significantly higher rate of stroke (adjusted odds ratio 3.4, p = 0.027) than those without echocardiographic evidence of thrombi. There was no difference in mortality between patients with and without thrombus (20.9% vs 21.1%, p = 0.726).