NCT06606054

WSO BEAT STROKE Initiative

WSO - The Brain and hEart globAl iniTiative (BEAT) Stroke

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 2,400 (estimated)
• Sponsor: London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The WSO Brain and hEart globAl iniTiative - STROKE (BEAT-STROKE) is a cluster randomized controlled trial, testing whether an educational and implementation Neurocardiology tool can improve adherence to best practice recommendations for secondary stroke prevention of cardioembolic strokes, as defined by the WSO Systematic Review and Synthesis of Global Stroke Guidelines or more recent high-quality evidence published after the last stroke guidelines1

Detailed description

The World Stroke Organization (WSO) Brain and Heart Task Force developed The Brain \& hEart globAl iniTiative (BEAT), a pilot feasibility program aimed at establishing clinical collaborations between cardiologists and stroke physicians.1 The WSO BEAT pilot project focused on atrial fibrillation (AF) and patent foramen ovale (PFO) detection and management, highly prevalent cardioembolic causes of ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA). The pilot feasibility WSO BEAT program comprised 10 sites from 8 countries, including Brazil, China, Egypt, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Romania, and the USA. Of the 10 sites, two belonged exclusively to the public sector and one was public and private. The primary objective of the pilot WSO BEAT program was to assess its feasibility by achieving a composite feasibility outcome including: (1) developing site-specific clinical pathways for the diagnosis and management of AF, PFO, and the stroke heart syndrome; (2) establishing regular Neurocardiology rounds (e.g., monthly, bimonthly, etc.); and (3) incorporating a cardiologist to the stroke team. Overall, the WSO BEAT program successfully achieved the pre-specified goals at most sites. Regarding the three primary program objectives, 9/10 (90%) of the sites were able to design or update the proposed clinical care pathways, establish Neurocardiology rounds, and designate a dedicated cardiologist for the stroke team, respectively. To date it is unknown whether the implementation of Neurocardiology educational tools and collaborations between cardiologists and neurologists can improve adherence to best practice recommendations focused on the management of cardioembolic strokes.

Conditions

• Stroke
• PFO - Patent Foramen Ovale
• Atrial Fibrillation (AF)

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Educational and implementation Neurocardiology tool	Sites in this arm will be provided with an educational and implementation Neurocardiology tool aiming to improve adherence to best practice recommendations for secondary stroke prevention of cardioembolic strokes, as defined by the WSO Systematic Review and Synthesis of Global Stroke Guidelines or more recent high-quality evidence published after the last stroke guidelines1.
OTHER	No educational or implementation tool will be provided	Participants will be followed for up to 12 months. No educational or interventional tool will be provided to sites in this arm until the follow-up period has ended.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-07-01
• Primary completion: 2025-10-01
• Completion: 2026-12-01
• First posted: 2024-09-20
• Last updated: 2025-04-02

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Canada