IL6 and Stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis including five studies involving 22,928 patients and concerning the association between IL-6 and thromboembolic events in AF showed that higher level of IL-6 in AF patients is related to long-term thromboembolic events including stroke (RR 1.44, CI 95% 1.09–1.90, p = 0.01) and a higher risk of long-term bleeding risk (RR 1.36, CI 95% 1.06–1.74, p = 0.02) (15).