Managing heart conditions
Know the unknown about your stroke.
You survived the first stroke. A hidden AFib diagnosis could be the underlying cause.
If you’ve had a stroke you may be at risk for another. Your stroke may have been caused by atrial fibrillation (AFib), a type of irregular and often rapid heart rhythm.
The hidden risk of AFib:
- An AFib-related stroke has twice the fatality of a non-AFib stroke.2
- Patients are at higher risk of AFib after their stroke.3,4
Fortunately, AFib is treatable5 — and treating it can lower your risk of another stroke. AFib is often silent and infrequent. Finding it requires more than a standard heart check. It requires the right type of heart monitor.
People with AFib are five times more likely to have another stroke.1
A heart monitor can help detect AFib — but not all monitors are the same.
After a stroke, many patients receive a 30-day heart monitor to help determine if they have AFib. However, 30 days of monitoring may not be long enough to detect if you or your loved one has AFib.6
The diagnostic gap
Eighty-eight percent of unexplained stroke patients who had AFib would have been missed if they were only monitored for 30 days.2
Clinical studies have shown that it could take more than 80 days for AFib to appear for many stroke patients because the episodes happen rarely and often without symptoms.2,5
Your doctor may ask you to wear a portable heart monitor for several days to try to identify AFib, but in some cases a longer term option may be needed.
Shed light on answers and help reduce your chance of another stroke by 60%.7
The LINQ II™ insertable cardiac monitor (ICM) is designed to provide the continuous data your doctor needs to identify a hidden cause of stroke and help prevent the next one. It is a long-term monitor that provides industry-leading accuracy in detecting AFib.8
With the LINQ II™ ICM, you can expect:
- Reliable detection: The LINQ II™ ICM detects 98.9% of AFib incidences.9 Leading consumer smartwatches were not designed for this level of precision and may only detect 26% of incidences.10
- Long-term monitoring: LINQ II™ ICM can monitor your heart for up to 4.5 years.†,‡,11
- Connected care: If even the slightest AFib is detected, LINQ II™ ICM will inform your doctor. You can then begin treatment and may reduce your risk of another stroke.
- A simple, five-minute procedure: The LINQ II™ ICM is placed just under the skin during a simple outpatient procedure that typically takes less than five minutes, requires no general anesthesia, and allows you to get back to your day immediately.
Ready to talk to a cardiologist, but don’t have one yet? We can help.
† Nominal settings.
‡ With mobile app optimization set to “off,” the battery is projected to last 4.5 years. With mobile app optimization set to “on,” the battery is projected to last 2.5 years. See patient manual for additional information.
Learn more about the ICM procedure.
This animation explains more about an ICM and what to expect from the insertion procedure.
Prefer to talk? Call to find a cardiologist near you.
800-551-5544 (toll-free)
7 a.m.–6 p.m. CT, Monday–Friday
Already have a cardiologist?
Prepare for your next visit. Download our Doctor Discussion guide to help you and your doctor discuss how long-term monitoring can reduce your risk of another stroke.
1. Wolf PA, Abbott RD, Kannel WB. Atrial fibrillation as an independent risk factor for stroke: The Framingham Study. Stroke. 1991;22(8):983–988. doi:10.1161/01.str.22.8.983.
2. Lin HJ, Wolf PA, Kelly-Hayes M, et al. Stroke severity in atrial fibrillation. The Framingham Study. Stroke. 1996;27(10):1760–1764. doi:10.1161/01.str.27.10.1760.
3. Sanna T, Diener HC, Passman RS, et al. Cryptogenic stroke and underlying atrial fibrillation. N Engl J Med. 2014;370(26):2478–2486. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1313600.
4. Bernstein RA, Kamel H, Granger CB, et al. Effect of long-term continuous cardiac monitoring vs usual care on detection of atrial fibrillation in patients with stroke attributed to large- or small-vessel disease: The STROKE-AF randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2021;325(21):2169–2177. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.6470.
5. Tsivgoulis G, Katsanos AH, Mac Grory B, et al. Prolonged cardiac rhythm monitoring and secondary stroke prevention in patients with cryptogenic cerebral ischemia. Stroke. 2019;50(8):2175–2180. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.119.025169.
6. Buck BH, Hill MD, Exner DV. Implantable vs prolonged external electrocardiographic monitoring for atrial fibrillation detection in patients with ischemic stroke. JAMA. 2021;325:2160–2168. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.13490.
7. Shoamanesh A, Field TS, Coutts SB, et al. Apixaban versus aspirin for stroke prevention in people with subclinical atrial fibrillation and a history of stroke or transient ischaemic attack: subgroup analysis of the ARTESiA randomised controlled trial. Lancet Neurol. 2025;24(2):140–151. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(24)00475-7.
8. Spooner MT, Messé SR, Chaturvedi S, et al. 2024 ACC expert consensus decision pathway on practical approaches for arrhythmia monitoring after stroke: A report of the American College of Cardiology solution set oversight committee. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2025;85:657–681. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2024.10.100.
9. Ahluwalia N, Majumder S, Koehler J, Landman S, Sakar, S, Schilling RJ. Episode-level and clinical characterization of asymptomatic atrial fibrillation events. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2024;35(12):2273–2279. doi:10.1111/jce.16423.
10. Piccini J, Lande J, Kanwar R, Johnson L, Passman R. Performance of apple watch for detecting atrial fibrillation among a known atrial fibrillation population. Eur Heart J. 2024;45(S1):ehae666.3538. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehae666.3538.
11. LINQ II™ LNQ22 ICM clinician manual. M974764A001D. Medtronic; 2022.