Long-Term Outcome in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke and Heart Failure

This study aimed to identify the association between long term functional outcomes and acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in patients with heart failure (HF) in Japan and whether 1-year event risks can be related to these patients.

This was a prospective observational study, and 651 patients registered in the Tokyo Women's Medical University Stroke Registry were classified into the HF and non-HF groups. Functional outcome at 1 year after stroke onset was defined as either good (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] score of 0-2) or poor (mRS score of 3-6). The primary outcome was a composite of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), including non-fatal stroke, non-fatal acute coronary syndrome, and vascular death. Patients with HF had a higher poor functional outcome rate at 1 year than those without HF (54.7% vs. 28.2%, P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis also demonstrated the prevalence of HF was an independent predictor of an mRS score of ≥3 at 1 year after stroke onset (odds ratio, 1.05; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-1.10; P=0.036). Furthermore, patients with HF tended to have a higher risk of MACE and all-cause mortality than those without HF.

AIS patients with HF were associated with poor functional outcome at the 1-year follow up. Further multicenter studies involving a larger number of patients are warranted to verify these results.