ELECTRIC CARDIAC CHANGES IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE STROKE

Abstract

Since the cardiovascular system as with many other human physiological system is controlled by autonomic regulation. It is to be expected that acute disturbances of the central nervous system might result in

a wide spectrum of cardiac functional as well as electrophysiological disorders. Indeed acute cerebrovascular events have long been known to cause ST

segment changes and T- wave abnormalities in electrocardiographic tracings. Arrhythmias have also been reported and seem to be related to dysfunction of autonomic cardiac control. The hypothesis of that study was to detect changes in QTD that is considered a measure of repolarization inhomogenicity in the myocardium that could represent an electrophysiological substrate for arrhythmia. Also we aimed to assess changes in heart rate variability, to detect autonomic dysfunction as consequences of acute stroke.

The current study was carried out in the department of cardiology

and department of neurology, AI-Minya university hospital, during the period from December 2003 to October 2004.

The study included 7Z subjects: •52 patients presenting with first-ever acute thrombotic stroke within the first 24 hours of symptom onset. -

•20 normal subjects of comparable age as controls.

* Mean ages for the study patients and control groups were (58.75 ±6.04) and (56.15±4.45) years old respectively.

* Based on admission computed tomography findings, patients group was classified into two groups:

• Group I:included 28 patients presenting with cerebral hemisphere infarction.

11 Group IT: included 24 patients presenting with acute intracerebral heamorrhage.

Of patients who had stroke twenty patients had right-sided stroke, and thirty­ two patients had left-sided strokes.