Silent Ischemic Stroke Was Revealed after Screening for Cognitive Dysfunction in a Hypertensive Patient with New Onset Atrial Fibrillation – Case Report

Introduction: Hypertension is one of the most important modifiable risk factor related to cognitive decline and dementia. However, screening for cognitive dysfunction is not part of the routine clinical assessment. Case presentation: In this report, we present the case of a 75 year old hypertensive male patient with new-onset atrial fibrillation, admitted to the Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Clinic Târgu Mureș. Apart from the routine clinical assessment, the evaluation of cognitive functions was performed with three different screening instruments which identified cognitive dysfunction. Depressive state was assessed with the shortened 13 items form of the Beck Depression Inventory BDI-13 (BDI-13) and it showed moderate depression which could influence the results of cognitive tests. Detection of cognitive impairment was followed by magnetic resonance imaging, which revealed not only hypertension specific microvascular impairment but also a sequelae of a former stroke in the territory of the left middle cerebral artery and a possible meningioma. Conclusion: Screening for cognitive dysfunction in high-risk hypertensive patients can be easily performed and in several cases like ours, can unmask silent cerebrovascular pathologies, leading to prognostic and therapeutic consequences.