NCT07922655Completed
From Skull Base to Atrial Fibrillation: Reduced Jugular Foramen Volume as a Structural Correlate of Atrial Fibrillation
From Skull Base to Atrial Fibrillation
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 6 Nov 2026
Brief summary (registry, in English)
This study examines whether the size of the jugular foramen is associated with atrial fibrillation, a common irregular heart rhythm. The jugular foramen is an opening at the base of the skull through which nerves involved in heart regulation and a major vein pass. This retrospective study uses existing medical records and head computed tomography (CT) scans from 240 adults aged 60-90 years: 120 with atrial fibrillation and 120 without a history of atrial fibrillation. Researchers measure the jugular foramina on both sides of the skull and compare their estimated volumes between the groups. They also examine whether any association remains after accounting for age, sex, skull size, other medical conditions, and heart ultrasound findings. No additional scans, treatments, or patient visits are performed for this study. The study assesses an association and cannot establish whether jugular foramen size causes atrial fibrillation.
- Status (registry)
- Completed
- Study type
- Observational
- Enrollment
- 240 (actual)
- First submitted
- 2 Nov 2026
- Start date
- 1 Jan 2025
- Primary completion date
- 1 Sept 2026
- Lead sponsor
- Ankara Ataturk Sanatorium Training and Research Hospital
- Diseases
- Atrial fibrillation
- NCT number
- NCT07922655
What you commit to
- Study type: Observational
- Participants enrolled: 240
- From 1 Jan 2025 to the primary completion date, 1 Sept 2026
- 1 site in 1 country
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study design.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Prior treatment
- Prior cardiac surgery or catheter ablation.
Other illness
- History of skull-base fracture, skull-base surgery, or skull-base tumor.
- Fibrous dysplasia or Paget disease.
- Jugular or sigmoid sinus thrombosis.
- Intracranial hypertension.
- More-than-moderate valvular heart disease.
- Cardiomyopathy or congenital heart disease.
Other
- Atrial fibrillation attributable to transient reversible causes.
- Implanted devices.
- CT image artifacts that prevent reliable jugular foramen measurements.
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Who the study is looking for
- Age 60-90 years.
- Non-contrast cranial CT with bone reconstruction at a slice thickness of ≤0.625 mm, performed between January 2022 and July 2026.
- Transthoracic echocardiography and cardiac rhythm documentation available within 12 months of the CT examination.
- For the atrial fibrillation group: atrial fibrillation documented on a 12-lead electrocardiogram or an ambulatory ECG recording lasting at least 30 seconds.
- For the control group: no history of atrial fibrillation, sinus rhythm on all available electrocardiograms, and cranial CT performed for indications unrelated to the skull base.
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Age in the registry: 60 years to 90 years · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers
Sites (1)
Sites in registry order. Save your city in your profile to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ankara Atatürk Sanatoryum Reseach Training Hospital | Ankara | Türkiye | Unknown status |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.