Association of electrocardiographic and echocardiographic variables with neurological outcomes after ischemic Stroke

Background: Cardiac dysfunction is often seen following neurological injury. Data regarding cardiac involvement after ischemic stroke is sparse. We investigated the association of electrocardiographic (ECG) and echocardiographic variables with neurological outcomes after an acute ischemic stroke.Methods: We retrospectively collected baseline characteristics, stroke location, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at the time of admission, acute reperfusion treatment, ECG parameters, and echocardiographic data on 174 patients admitted with acute ischemic stroke. Outcomes of the stroke were based on cerebral performance category (CPC) with a CPC score of 1-2 indicating a good outcome and a CPC score of 3-5 indicating a poor outcome.Results: Older age (75.31 +/- 11.89 vs. 65.16 +/- 15.87, p < 0.001, OR = 1.04, 95 % CI 1.01-1.07), higher heart rate (80.63 +/- 18.69 vs. 74.45 +/- 17.17 bpm, p = 0.024, OR = 1.02, 95 % CI 1.00-1.05) longer QTc interval (461.69 +/- 39.94 vs. 450.75 +/- 35.24, p = 0.024, OR = 1.01, 95 % CI 0.99-1.02), NIHSS score (60.9 % vs. 17.8 %, p < 0.001, OR = 14.90, 95 % CI 3.83-69.5), and thrombolysis (15 % vs. 5 %, p = 0.049, OR = 0.55, 95 % CI 0.10-2.55) were associated with poor neurological outcomes. However, when adjusted for age and NIHSS, heart rate and QTc were no longer statistically significant. None of the other ECG and echocardiographic variables were associated neurological outcomes.Conclusions: Elevated heart rate and longer QTc intervals may potentially predict poor neurological outcomes. Further studies are needed for validation and possible integration of these variables in outcome predicting models.