CARDIAC FUNCTION IN ANEURYSMAL SUBARACHNOID HAEMORRHAGE: A STUDY OF ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHIC AND ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC ABNORMALITIES

Electrocardiographic (ECG) changes are reported frequently after subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). The aim of this study was to investigate the functional significance of ECG changes by echocardiographic assessment of cardiac function. Forty-five patients with intracranial aneurysms were studied. All...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of anaesthesia : BJA 1991-07, Vol.67 (1), p.58-63
Main Authors: DAVIES, K.R., GELB, A.W., MANNINEN, P.H., BOUGHNER, D.R., BISNAIRE, D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Biological and medical sciences
Echocardiography
Electrocardiography
Female
Haemorrhage: subarachnoid
Heart - physiopathology
Heart: cardiac dysfunction
Humans
Intracranial Aneurysm - complications
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Monitoring: echocardiography
Neurology
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage - diagnostic imaging
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage - etiology
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage - physiopathology
Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system
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Summary:Electrocardiographic (ECG) changes are reported frequently after subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). The aim of this study was to investigate the functional significance of ECG changes by echocardiographic assessment of cardiac function. Forty-five patients with intracranial aneurysms were studied. All patients had a 12-lead ECG and a two-dimensional echocardiogram. After patients with an history of chronic cardiac disease (n = 4) were excluded, only four patients were found to have wall motion abnormalities. These patients had only minor ECG abnormalities, but severe neurological dysfunction. Conversely, patients with other ECG abnormalities including the deep inverted T waves associated usually with SAH, had normal echocardiograms. We conclude that the ECG is not an accurate predictor of myocardial function after SAH and that myocardial dysfunction is related more closely to severity of neurological condition.
ISSN:0007-0912
1471-6771
DOI:10.1093/bja/67.1.58