engleski

Gradual Recovery of Impaired Cardiac Autonomic Balance within First Six Months after Ischemic Stroke

The aim of this study was to establish the degree and dynamics of impaired cardiac autonomic balance recovery within the first six months following the acute ischemic stroke Methods: This prospective study included 71 patients who had suffered the first ischemic stroke and 71 age-matched healthy subjects. Inclusion criteria were: age under 70 years, ischemic hemispheric lesions verified by a CT scan (52% with the left and 48% with the right hemispheric infarction), and ECG sinus rhythm. We have analyzed heart rate variability (HRV) from a 24-hour Holter ECG. In patients with stroke, HRV was measured after two and six months following the acute phase, respectively. Differences in HRV were tested by analysis of variance with post hoc comparison by using Tukey test. Results: Two and six months after the acute ischemic stroke, all HRV variables, except low to high frequency ratio (LF/HF), were significantly lower in the group of stroke patients when compared to the control group. Furthermore, we found a significant increase in the overall HRV between months 2 and 6 after the acute phase of stroke, p=0.03 for Standard deviation of all normal R-R intervals (SDNN) and p=0.01 for Total power. Conclusions: The results point to the gradual recovery of impaired cardiac autonomic balance in patients with ischemic stroke within the first months following the acute phase. Nevertheless, HRV remains significantly lower even six months after the acute phase in comparison to healthy age-matched subjects.

heart rate; stroke; autonomic nervous system; recovery

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