Background: There is a significant association between cardiac dysfunction and ischemic stroke. The serious cardiac adverse events (SCAEs) after decompressive craniectomy for malignant cerebral infarction from ischemic stroke were studied retrospectively.
Methods: Retrospective data were collected for preexisting cardiac risk factors, baseline clinical measures, and perioperative SCAEs including life-threatening arrhythmias, myocardial ischemia, cardiac failure, and cardiac arrest. The association between perioperative SCAEs and mortality was assessed using the χ(2) test.
Results: Data from 42 patients were analyzed. Mortality occurred in 19 (45.2%) patients. Eleven (57.9% of deaths) suffered mortality because of neurological causes, 7 patients (36.8% of mortality) because of cardiac causes, and 1 because of other causes. Mortality in patients who developed SCAEs was significantly higher than in those without SCAEs [75% mortality with SCAEs vs. 18.2% without SCAEs (P<0.0001)]. The odds ratio for mortality with SCAEs was 13.5 (3.1 to 59.5). There was a significant correlation between the number of SCAEs and mortality (Spearmans ρ=0.738 (P<0.0001).
Conclusion: Serious cardiac events are common in the acute period after stroke and decompressive craniectomy, and are important contributors to mortality.