Non-valvular atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia and a major risk factor for cardioembolic stroke. Small cerebral vascular disease is a syndrome of clinical, cognitive, imaging, and pathological manifestations caused by intracranial small vascular lesions. The imaging findings on cranial magnetic resonance usually shows recent subcortical small infarction, vascularised lacunae, white matter hypersignal, perivascular space enlargement, cerebral microhemorrhage, and brain atrophy. It is a major cause of neurological loss and cognitive function decline in the elderly. Current studies suggest that atrial fibrillation may increase the imaging load of cerebral small vessel disease through a series of mechanisms such as microembolization, hypoperfusion, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and lymphoid system dysfunction. The imaging of cerebral small vessel disease with atrial fibrillation has a potential relationship with cognitive function decline and is related to the occurrence and prognosis of stroke, even more has a potential role in suggesting the etiology and secondary prevention strategies of ischemic stroke.
非瓣膜性心房颤动是一种常见的心律失常，是心源性栓塞型脑卒中的主要危险因素。脑小血管病是指颅内小血管病变所致临床、认知、影像和病理表现的综合征，头颅磁共振常表现为近期皮质下小梗死、血管源性腔隙、脑白质高信号、血管周围间隙扩大、脑微出血和脑萎缩，是老年人神经功能丧失和认知能力下降的主要原因。目前研究认为，心房颤动可能通过微栓塞、低灌注、炎症及内皮功能障碍和类淋巴系统功能障碍等一系列机制增加脑小血管病的影像负荷。心房颤动伴发脑小血管病的影像学特征与心房颤动患者认知功能下降有一定关系，与脑卒中的发生和预后相关，对缺血性脑卒中的病因研究及二级预防策略的制订有一定提示作用。.
Keywords: cerebral small vessel disease; cognitive function; ischemic stroke; neuroimaging; non-valvular atrial fibrillation.