Higher Left Ventricle Mass Indices Predict Favorable Outcome in Stroke Patients with Thrombolysis

We sought to assess the association of left ventricle mass (LVM) indices with the functional outcome of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients after intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV-tPA).

Consecutive AIS patients with IV-tPA were recruited. LVM indices including LVM/weight, LVM/surface, and LVM/heightˆ(2.7) on echocardiogram during hospitalization were retrospectively reviewed. Outcome was 90-day modified Rankin scale (mRS) scores. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to analyze the association of LVM indices with outcome.

Between August 2010 and May 2014, 55 AIS patients (age range from 27 to 78 years, 69.1% men) with echocardiogram after thrombolysis were recruited. Lower baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS; P = .009) and higher LVM indices (LVM/weight [P = .012], LVM/surface [P = .039], and LVM/heightˆ(2.7) [P = .045]) were significantly associated with 90-day favorable outcome (mRS, 0-2). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, LVM/weight independently predicted good outcome with an odds ratio of 3.89 (95% confidence interval, 1.05-14.42, P = .042) after adjustment for baseline NIHSS, onset-to-treatment time, hypertension, hemorrhagic transformation, and systolic left ventricle inner diameters.

Higher LVM indices on echocardiogram are significantly associated with favorable outcome in stroke patients with IV-tPA, among which LVM/weight seems to be the most effective.