Cerebral thromboembolism after direct current cardioversion for pure atrial flutter

The need for prophylactic anticoagulation before electrical cardioversion for atrial arrhythmias is clearly established in the case of atrial fibrillation. By contrast, such prophylaxis is not a current standard of care before cardioversion for pure atrial flutter, since this arrythmia seems not to increase the risk of postcardioversion embolism. We present a patient who developed two cerebral embolisms 24 h after electrical cardioversion for pure atrial flutter. To our knowledge, this observation has not been previously reported. Received: 2 February 1996 Accepted: 24 October 1996