Examination of QT dispersion features in acute ischemic stroke patients

Serhan Özyıldırım, Examination of QT dispersion Features in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients. Medical Speciality Thesis, Bolu, 2009. Ischemic stroke, an important cause of morbidity and mortality, can cause fatal arryhthmias without any underlying cardiac pathology. In this study the aim was to investigate whether QT dispersion, known as a useful technique to predict ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death, can be used as a meaningful test in ischemic stroke or not.Corrected QT dispersions from the ECGs obtained in first 12 and after 48 hours of ischemic stroke onset were compared with the QTcd values of age and sex matched control group. Moreover, the effects of some features as diabetes, left ventricular hypertrophy and lesion location on QT dispersion were analyzed. Furthermore, change in QT dispersion with time during the treatment period was determined. It was found that in first 12 hours of symptom onset QTcd values of the stroke group was significantly longer than the control group but after 48 hours QTcd values of the stroke group were decreased and the difference between two groups was not statistically significant anymore. However it was shown that in stroke patients, diabetes and left ventricular hypertrophy caused a more obvious increase in QT dispersion and after 48 hours QTcd values of those patients were still significantly longer. Moreover QTcd values of the patients with left hemispheric lesions were significantly longer than the QTcd?s of the patients with right hemispheric lesions and this difference was preserved also after 48 hours.As a result, QT dispersion increases during first hours of ischemic stroke and decreases by time during treatment period. This increase is more obvious and it lasts longer in stroke patients with diabetes, left ventricular hypertrophy and left hemispheric lesions. Therefore those results can be valuable during the monitorisation and intensive care follow up of ischemic stroke patients in order to dicrease mortality.Key Words: Acute ischemic stroke, QT dispersion, diabetes, lesion lateralisation, left ventricular hypertrophy.