ECG monitoring after acute ischemic stroke

Early Cardiac Evaluation, Abnormal Test Results, and Associations with Outcomes in Patients with Acute Brain Injury Admitted to a Neurocritical Care Unit

Background: to examine factors associated with cardiac evaluation and associations between cardiac test abnormalities and clinical outcomes in patients with acute brain injury (ABI) due to acute ischemic stroke (AIS), spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH), and traumatic brain injury (TBI) requiring neurocritical care. Methods: In a cohort of patients ≥18 years, we examined the utilization of electrocardiography (ECG), beta-natriuretic peptide (BNP), cardiac troponin (cTnI), and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). We investigated the association between cTnI, BNP, sex-adjusted prolonged QTc interval, low ejection fraction (EF < 40%), all-cause mortality, death by neurologic criteria (DNC), transition to comfort measures only (CMO), and hospital discharge to home using univariable and multivariable analysis (adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance carrier, pre-admission cardiac disorder, ABI type, admission Glasgow Coma Scale Score, mechanical ventilation, and intracranial pressure [ICP] monitoring). Results: The final sample comprised 11,822 patients: AIS (46.7%), sICH (18.5%), SAH (14.8%), and TBI (20.0%). A total of 63% (n = 7472) received cardiac workup, which increased over nine years (p < 0.001). A cardiac investigation was associated with increased age, male sex (aOR 1.16 [1.07, 1.27]), non-white ethnicity (aOR), non-commercial insurance (aOR 1.21 [1.09, 1.33]), pre-admission cardiac disorder (aOR 1.21 [1.09, 1.34]), mechanical ventilation (aOR1.78 [1.57, 2.02]) and ICP monitoring (aOR1.68 [1.49, 1.89]). Compared to AIS, sICH (aOR 0.25 [0.22, 0.29]), SAH (aOR 0.36 [0.30, 0.43]), and TBI (aOR 0.19 [0.17, 0.24]) patients were less likely to receive cardiac investigation. Patients with troponin 25th-50th quartile (aOR 1.65 [1.10-2.47]), troponin 50th-75th quartile (aOR 1.79 [1.22-2.63]), troponin >75th quartile (aOR 2.18 [1.49-3.17]), BNP 50th-75th quartile (aOR 2.86 [1.28-6.40]), BNP >75th quartile (aOR 4.54 [2.09-9.85]), prolonged QTc (aOR 3.41 [2.28; 5.30]), and EF < 40% (aOR 2.47 [1.07; 5.14]) were more likely to be DNC. Patients with troponin 50th-75th quartile (aOR 1.77 [1.14-2.73]), troponin >75th quartile (aOR 1.81 [1.18-2.78]), and prolonged QTc (aOR 1.71 [1.39; 2.12]) were more likely to be associated with a transition to CMO. Patients with prolonged QTc (aOR 0.66 [0.58; 0.76]) were less likely to be discharged home. Conclusions: This large, single-center study demonstrates low rates of cardiac evaluations in TBI, SAH, and sICH compared to AIS. However, there are strong associations between electrocardiography, biomarkers of cardiac injury and heart failure, and echocardiography findings on clinical outcomes in patients with ABI. Findings need validation in a multicenter cohort.

Development of a novel score to predict newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation after ischemic stroke: The CHASE-LESS score

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Prompt detection of atrial fibrillation (AF) is essential for optimal secondary stroke prevention, but routine long-term cardiac monitoring of all ischemic stroke patients is neither practical nor affordable. We aimed to develop and validate a risk score to identify patients at risk for newly diagnosed AF (NDAF) after ischemic stroke.

METHODS

Information on adult patients hospitalized for ischemic stroke without known AF was retrieved from a nationwide database. Primary outcome was NDAF within one year following index stroke. A stepwise Cox model was used to screen for predictors. Beta coefficients for the independent predictors were converted to integer points, which were summed to create a risk score.

RESULTS

We identified 4 positive predictors and 3 negative predictors. The CHASE-LESS score (Coronary, Heart failure, Age, stroke SEverity, - LipidEmia, Sugar, prior Stroke) comprises coronary artery disease (1 point), congestive heart failure (1 point), age (1 point for every 10 years), stroke severity (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; 1 point for 6-13 and 4 points for ≥14), hyperlipidemia (-1 point), diabetes (-1 point), and prior history of stroke or transient ischemic attack (-1 point). Overall, 6.0% (1029/17,076) of patients developed NDAF. The incidence rate ranged from 8/1000 person-years (CHASE-LESS ≤3) to 240/1000 person-years (CHASE-LESS ≥10). The model achieved a c-index of 0.730 in the development cohort and 0.732 in the validation cohort.

CONCLUSIONS

The CHASE-LESS score could aid clinicians to identify patients at risk of developing NDAF and help prioritize patients for advanced cardiac monitoring.