Electrocardiographic and Echocardiographic Findings of Patients With Non-hemorrhagic Stroke

Stroke is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The association between non-hemorrhagic stroke and some electrocardiographic and echocardiographic findings shows its potential cardiac source. This study aimed to evaluate electrocardiographic and echocardiographic findings of patients with non-hemorrhagic stroke.

This cross-sectional study included 134 patients with non-hemorrhagic stroke admitted to the neurology ward of Shahid Mohammadi hospital, Bandar Abbas, Iran, from 2018 to 2019. Patients’ characteristics including age, gender, family history of stroke, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, inadequate physical activity, and smoking were recorded. All patients underwent electrocardiography (ECG) and echocardiography.

The patients’ mean age was 68.57±12.08 years. Additionally, 84 patients (62.7%) were male. The most common risk factor was dyslipidemia (72.4%) followed by hypertension (64.9%), diabetes (45.5%), smoking (44.8%), and family history of stroke (17.2%). Inadequate physical activity was found in 69.4% of the patients. The most common ECG finding was old myocardial infarction (MI) accounting for 24.6% of the patients, followed by atrial fibrillation (AF) (14.9%) and new MI (3.7%). The most common echocardiographic finding was significant mitral regurgitation (MR) (23.1%), followed by left ventricular systolic dysfunction (21.6%), significant tricuspid regurgitation (TR) (11.2%), mitral stenosis (MS) (4.5%), aortic stenosis (AS) (4.5%), and mitral annulus calcification (MAC) (2.2%).

The most common echocardiographic and ECG findings of patients with non-hemorrhagic stroke in this study were MR and old MI and the most common risk factor was dyslipidemia.