Characteristics associated with occurrence of stroke in patients with infective endocarditis - a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Stroke is a severe complication of infective endocarditis (IE), associated with high rates of mortality. Data on how IE patients with and without stroke differ may help to improve understanding contributing mechanisms. METHODS: All patients treated for IE between 2019 and 2021 with and without associated stroke were identified from the medical records of three academic tertiary care hospitals in Germany, all part of Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify variables associated with the occurrence of stroke. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 353 patients diagnosed with IE. Concomitant stroke occurred in 96/353 (27.2%) patients. Acute stroke was independently associated with co-occurring extracerebral arterial embolism [adjusted Odds ratio (aOR = 2.52; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.35-4.71)], acute liver failure (aOR = 2.62; 95% CI 1.06-6.50), dental focus of infection (aOR = 3.14; 95% CI 1.21-8.12) and left-sided IE (aOR = 28.26; 95% CI 3.59-222.19). Stroke was found less often in IE patients with congenital heart disease (aOR = 0.20; 95% CI 0.04-0.99) and atypical pathogens isolated from blood culture (aOR = 0.31; 95% CI 0.14-0.72). CONCLUSIONS: Stroke is more likely to occur in individuals with systemic complications affecting other organs, too. Special attention should be addressed to dental status. The low incidence of stroke in patients with congenital heart disease may reflect awareness and prophylactic measures.

Myocardial injury in patients with acute ischemic stroke detected by cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging.

BACKGROUND: Patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) are at high risk of adverse cardiovascular events. Until now, the burden of myocardial injury derived from cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) has not been established in this population. METHODS: Patients with AIS underwent CMR at 3 Tesla within 120 h after the index stroke as part of a prospective, single-center study. Patients with persistent atrial fibrillation were excluded. Morphology and function of both cardiac chambers and atria were assessed applying SSFP cine. Myocardial tissue differentiation was based on native and contrast-enhanced imaging including late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) after 0.15 mmol/kg gadobutrol for focal fibrosis and parametric T2- and T1-mapping for diffuse findings. To detect myocardial deformation global longitudinal (GLS), circumferential (GCS) and radial (GRS) strain was measured applying feature tracking. Cardiac troponin was measured using a high-sensitivity assay (99th percentile upper reference limit 14 ng/L). T2 mapping values were compared with 20 healthy volunteers. RESULTS: CMR with contrast media was successfully performed in 92 of 115 patients (mean age 74 years, 40% female, known myocardial infarction 6%). Focal myocardial fibrosis (LGE) was detected in 31 of 92 patients (34%) of whom 23/31 (74%) showed an ischemic pattern. Patients with LGE were more likely to have diabetes, prior myocardial infarction, prior ischemic stroke, and to have elevated troponin levels compared to those without. Presence of LGE was accompanied by diffuse fibrosis (increased T1 native values) even in remote cardiac areas as well as reduced global radial, circumferential and longitudinal strain values. In 14/31 (45%) of all patients with LGE increased T2-mapping values were detectable. CONCLUSIONS: More than one-third of patients with AIS have evidence of focal myocardial fibrosis on CMR. Nearly half of these changes may have acute or subacute onset. These findings are accompanied by diffuse myocardial changes and reduced myocardial deformation. Further studies, ideally with serial CMR measurements during follow-up, are required to establish the impact of these findings on long-term prognosis after AIS.

Outcomes after reperfusion therapies in patients with ACA stroke: A multicenter cohort study from the EVATRISP collaboration.

BACKGROUND: Patients with stroke secondary to occlusions of the anterior cerebral artery (ACA) often have poor outcomes. The optimal acute therapeutic intervention for these patients remains unknown. METHODS: Patients with isolated ACA-stroke were identified from 10 centers participating in the EndoVascular treatment And ThRombolysis in Ischemic Stroke Patients (EVATRISP) prospective registry. Patients treated with endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) were compared to those treated with intravenous thrombolysis (IVT). Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (OR; 95%CI) were calculated using multivariate regression analysis. RESULTS: Included were 92 patients with ACA-stroke. Of the 92 ACA patients, 55 (60%) were treated with IVT only and 37 (40%) with EVT (±bridging IVT). ACA patients treated with EVT had more often wake-up stroke (24% vs. 6%, p = 0.044) and proximal ACA occlusions (43% vs. 24%, p = 0.047) and tended to have higher stroke severity on admission [NIHSS: 10.0 vs 7.0, p = 0.054). However, odds for favorable outcome, mortality or symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage did not differ significantly between both groups. Exploration of the effect of clot location inside the ACA showed that in patients with A1 or A2/A3 ACA occlusions the chances of favorable outcome were not influenced by treatment allocation to IVT or EVT. DISCUSSION: Treatment with either IVT or EVT could be safe with similar effect in patients with ACA-strokes and these effects may be independent of clot location within the occluded ACA.

[Troponin elevation in acute ischemic stroke-unspecific or acute myocardial infarction? : Diagnostics and clinical implications]. / Troponinerhöhung beim akuten ischämischen Schlaganfall ­ unspezifisch oder Ausdruck eines akuten Myokardinfarkts? : Diagnostik und klinische Implikationen.

Routine determination of troponin levels is recommended for all patients with acute ischemic stroke. In 20-55% of these patients the troponin levels are elevated, which may be caused by ischemic as well as non-ischemic myocardial damage and particularly neurocardiogenic myocardial damage. In patients with acute ischemic stroke, the prevalence of previously unknown coronary heart disease is reported to be up to 27% and is prognostically relevant for these patients; however, relevant coronary stenoses are less frequently detected in stroke patients with troponin elevation compared to patients with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. The risk of secondary intracerebral hemorrhage due to the necessity for dual platelet aggregation inhibition illustrates the challenging indication for invasive coronary diagnostics and revascularization. Therefore, a diagnostic work-up and interdisciplinary risk evaluation appropriate to the urgency are necessary in order to be able to determine a reasonable treatment approach with timing of the intervention, type and duration of blood thinning. In addition to conventional examination methods, multimodal cardiac imaging is increasingly used for this purpose. This review article aims to provide a pragmatic and clinically oriented approach to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, taking into account the available evidence.

Myocardial injury in transient global amnesia: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Elevation of cardiac troponin (cTn), a sensitive biomarker of myocardial injury, is frequently observed in severe acute neurological disorders. Case reports suggest that cardiac dysfunction may also occur in patients with transient global amnesia (TGA). Until now, no study has systematically assessed this phenomenon. METHODS: We performed a case-control study using data of consecutive patients presenting with TGA from 2010 to 2015. Multiple logistic regression analysis accounting for age, sex and cardiovascular risk factors was performed to compare the likelihood of myocardial injury [defined as elevation of cTn > 99th percentile (≥14 ng/L); highly sensitive cardiac troponin T assay] in TGA with three reference groups: migraine with aura, vestibular neuritis and transient ischaemic attack (TIA). RESULTS: Cardiac troponin elevation occurred in 28 (25%) of 113 patients with TGA. Patients with TGA with cTn elevation were significantly older, more likely to be female and had higher blood pressure on admission compared with those without. The likelihood of myocardial injury following TGA was at least more than twofold higher compared with all three reference groups [adjusted odds ratio, 5.5; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.2-26.4, compared with migraine with aura; adjusted odds ratio, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.2-4.4, compared with vestibular neuritis; adjusted odds ratio, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.3-4.2, compared with TIA]. CONCLUSIONS: One out of four patients with TGA had evidence of myocardial injury as assessed by highly sensitive cTn assays. The likelihood of myocardial injury associated with TGA was even higher than in TIA patients with a more pronounced cardiovascular risk profile. Our findings suggest the presence of a TGA-related disturbance of brain-heart interaction that deserves further investigation.

[Troponin elevation in ischemic stroke patients]. / Troponinerhöhung nach ischämischem Schlaganfall.

Cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases are major causes of death and disability worldwide. Ischemic stroke is a frequent complication in cardiac diseases and, vice versa, cardiac complications commonly cause early clinical worsening and death after stroke. In the emergency setting, cardiac biomarkers (preferably troponin, cTn) are measured frequently in patients presenting with acute ischemic stroke. The measurement of cTn is recommended by the guidelines for early management of patients with acute ischemic stroke from the American Heart Association. In case of pathologic cTn elevation, physicians are confronted with diagnostic and therapeutic uncertainties. Up-to-date recommendations on interpretation and consecutive actions remain ambiguous because cTn elevations may originate from causes other than acute coronary disease and because clinical signs and symptoms of acute coronary disease may be obscured by neurological deficits of the stroke. The application of modern, high-sensitive cTn assays that detect even minor cTn elevations has rather aggravated the dilemma of how to interpret this finding in patients with ischemic stroke.This article gives an overview on possible mechanisms of the frequently observed cTn elevation in ischemic stroke patients and offers help on interpretation and meaningful actions.

Impact of heart rate on admission on mortality and morbidity in acute ischaemic stroke patients - results from VISTA.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Elevated heart rate (HR) is associated with worse outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease. Its predictive value in acute stroke patients is less well established. We investigated the effects of HR on admission in acute ischaemic stroke patients. METHODS: Using the Virtual International Stroke Trials Archive (VISTA) database, the association between HR in acute stroke patients without atrial fibrillation and the pre-defined composite end-point of (recurrent) ischaemic stroke, transient ischaemic attack (TIA), myocardial infarction (MI) and vascular death within 90 days was analysed. Pre-defined secondary outcomes were the composite end-point components and any death, decompensated heart failure and degree of functional dependence according to the modified Rankin Scale after 90 days. HR was analysed as a categorical variable (quartiles). RESULTS: In all, 5606 patients were available for analysis (mean National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale 13; mean age 67 years; mean HR 77 bpm; 44% female) amongst whom the composite end-point occurred in 620 patients (11.1%). Higher HR was not associated with the composite end-point. The frequencies of secondary outcomes were 3.2% recurrent stroke (n = 179), 0.6% TIA (n = 35), 1.8% MI (n = 100), 6.8% vascular death (n = 384), 15.0% any death (n = 841) and 2.2% decompensated heart failure (n = 124). Patients in the highest quartile (HR> 86 bpm) were at increased risk for any death [adjusted hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) 1.40 (1.11-1.75)], decompensated heart failure [adjusted hazard ratio 2.20 (1.11-4.37)] and worse modified Rankin Scale [adjusted odds ratio 1.29 (1.14-1.52)]. CONCLUSIONS: In acute stroke patients, higher HR (>86 bpm) is linked to mortality, heart failure and higher degree of dependence after 90 days but not to recurrent stroke, TIA or MI.

MRI-based intravenous thrombolysis in stroke patients with unknown time of symptom onset.

BACKGROUND: Currently, stroke patients with unknown time of symptom onset (UTOS) are excluded from therapy with intravenous tissue Plasminogen Activator. We hypothesized that MRI-based intravenous thrombolysis is safe in UTOS. METHODS: We analyzed radiological and clinical data as well as outcomes of stroke patients (including UTOS) who received intravenous thrombolytic therapy after MRI. RESULTS: Compared to patients with known time of symptom onset (n=131), UTOS (n=17) were older (81, 71-88 vs. 75 years, 66-82, P=0.03), had a longer median time between last-seen-well and thrombolysis (12.3 h, IQR 11.5-15.2 h vs. 2.1 h, 1.8-2.8 h, P<0.01), had a longer median door-to-needle time (86 min, 49-112 vs. 60 min, 49-76, P=0.02), and a higher rate of arterial obstruction on MR-angiography (82.4% vs. 56.5%, P=0.04). No symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage occurred in UTOS. After 3 months, there was no significant difference between groups concerning good functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale 0-2; 35.3% vs. 49.6%, P=0.26) or mortality (0% vs. 15.3%, P=0.08). In multivariate analyses including age, gender, baseline NIHSS, and atrial fibrillation UTOS did not have an independent effect on good functional outcome after 3 months (OR 1.16; 0.32-4.12, P=0.81). CONCLUSIONS: Thrombolysis after MRI seems safe and effective in UTOS. This observation may encourage those who plan prospective placebo-controlled trials of thrombolytics in this subgroup of stroke patients.