Electrocardiogram alterations in non-traumatic brain injury: a systematic review

Abstract

The presence of abnormal electrocardiograms in individuals without known organic heart disease is one of the most common manifestations of cardiac dysfunction occurring during acute non traumatic brain injury. The primary goal of the present review is to provide an overview of the available data and literature regarding the presence of new-onset electrocardiographic (ECG) alterations in acute non traumatic brain injury. The secondary aim is to identify the incidence of ECG alterations and consider the prognostic significance of new-onset ECG changes in this setting. To do so, English language articles from January 2000 to January 2022 were included from PubMed using the following keywords: "electrocardiogram and subarachnoid hemorrhage", "electrocardiogram and intracranial hemorrhage", "Q-T interval and subarachnoid hemorrhage ", "Q-T interval and intracranial bleeding ", "Q-T interval and intracranial hemorrhage", and "brain and heart- interaction in stroke". Of 3162 papers, 27 original trials looking at electrocardiogram alterations in acute brain injury were included following the PRISMA guideline. ECG abnormalities associated with acute brain injury could potentially predict poor patient outcomes. They could even herald the future development of neurogenic pulmonary edema (NPE), delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI), and even in-hospital death. In particular, patients with SAH are at increased risk of having severe ventricular dysrhythmias. These may contribute to a high mortality rate and to poor functional outcome at 3 months. The current data on ECG QT dispersion and mortality appear less clearly associated. While some patients demonstrated poor outcomes, others showed no relationship with poor outcomes or increased in-hospital mortality. Observing ECG alterations carefully after cerebral damage is important in the critical care of these patients as it can expose preexisting myocardial disease and change prognosis.

Keywords: Brain–heart interaction; Electrocardiogram; Intracranial bleeding; Intracranial hemorrhage; Q-T dispersion; Q-T interval; Stroke; Subarachnoid hemorrhage.