QT interval dispersion pattern in patients with acute ischemic stroke: Does the site of infarction matter?

BACKGROUND

QT interval dispersion (QTD) is an independent predictor of outcome following acute neurological events.

OBJECTIVES

To explore QTD patterns and their relation to the affected cerebral region in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

METHODS

Thirty patients with first acute ischemic stroke (the first stroke the patients had ever experienced) (study group) and 30 healthy controls (control group) were enrolled. Patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging to confirm and localize cerebral damage. Patients in the study group were further subdivided according to the site of infarction into four subgroups - namely, cortical, subcortical, brain stem and cerebellar infarctions, as well as according to insular involvement. All included subjects underwent 12-lead electrocardiography to measure QTD and corrected QT dispersion (QTcD).

RESULTS

In the study group, both QTD and QTcD on the first hospitalization day were significantly higher than in the control group (P<0.05 for both). Similarly, in the study group, both QTD and QTcD values on the first hospitalization day were significantly higher than the respective values on the third day (P<0.001 for both). No significant differences were found among the four territorial subgroups, or between right- and left-sided subgroups, regarding QT interval measurements, whether on the first or third day (P>0.05 for all). However, 'first-day' QTD and QTcD of patients with insular involvement were significantly higher than in those without such involvement (P<0.001 for both).

CONCLUSIONS

Both QTD and QTcD increased significantly in patients with acute ischemic stroke during the first hospitalization day. This increase of 'first-day' QTD and QTcD was significantly higher in patients with insular involvement than in those without such involvement.