Echocardoiographic assessment of patients with acute hemorrhagic stroke

Abstract EN

Patients with acute neurological vascular events, especially ischemic stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), frequently show electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities.

The aim of this work is to assess echocardiography changes in patients with recent hemorrhagic stroke with or without ECG changes.

This study included 30 patients with acute hemorrhagic stroke (subarachnoid or intracerebral hemorrhage) with ECG changes.

And this study group was compared with twenty patients presented with cerebrovascular stroke without ECG changes.

The cases and their controls were selected from neurology or neurosurgery department at Damietla University Hospital between Marsh 2008 and February 2009.

Each patient was subjected to : Complete history taking, full clinical examination ; resting standard 12-lead electrocardiogram at admission and after 10 days, laboratory investigations and Echocardiography examination at admission and after two weeks.

There was statistically significant increase in Abnormal p wave, abnormal PTFV1, LVH, ST elevation, ST depression, Inverted T wave and prolonged QTc in the study group in comparison to control group at admission.

In addition, cchocardiogipahic examination after 2 weeks showed statistically significant increase in both ejection fraction and fraction shortening in the study and control groups.

Also, there was statistically significant decrease in wall motion after two weeks in comparison to their values at admission in the study group In conclusion, in patients with non-traumatic hemorrhagic stroke, ECG abnormalities are common, especially QTc prolongation, ST-T morphologic changes, sinus tachy / bradycardia, and inverted T waves.

In addition.

there was significant increase in ejection fraction and fraction shortning ; and improvement in wall motion abnormalities.

As cardiac troponin was negative in all cases and controls, thus, echocardiography and ECG changes most likely to be due to neurological cardiac stuning and not secondary to cardiac ischemia.