Stroke heart injury: the effect of cerebral reperfusion treatment. A 3-year retrospective study

Cardiac involvement following an acute stroke (Stroke Heart Syndrome—SHS) is an established complication and it is linked to the involvement of sympathetic activation, inflammation, and neuro-endocrine response. Troponin “rise and fall pattern” > 30% is one marker of SHS. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of reperfusion treatments in the prevention/pathogenesis of SHS with different stroke sizes and locations (OCSP classification).

We retrospectively analyzed data of 890 patients admitted to the Stroke Unit of Trieste (Italy) between 2018 and 2020. Out of them, 411 met the inclusion criteria (acute ischemic non-lacunar stroke). Clinical data were collected for each patient, imaging characteristics, and markers of cardiac injury [troponin I (TnI), NT-proBNP, “rise and fall pattern” > 30%]. We compared different stroke subtypes according to OCSP, while evaluating any differences in patients with and without SHS.

In treated total anterior circulation infarct (TACI) patients, the rate of SHS is lower than in non-treated TACI. Similar SHS rate was found in partial anterior (PACI) and posterior stroke (POCI), and between treated and non-treated patients. Focusing on TACI group, we compared SHS-TACI and non-SHS-TACI, we performed a univariate and multivariate analysis; treatment (OR 0.408 CI95% 0.185–0.900; p = 0.026) and diabetes (OR 2.618 CI95% 1.181–5.803; p = 0.018) were significantly associated to SHS. No clear insular effect was found in SHS development.

In severe anterior stroke (TACI), reperfusion treatment may be effective in preventing SHS. Conversely, diabetes is an independent risk factor for SHS. PACI and POCI have similar troponin elevation rate.