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Updated: Aug 30, 2025
A Thrombotic Stroke Model Based On Transient Cerebral Hypoxia-ischemia
Published on: August 18, 2015
Stroke-Heart Syndrome: Recent Advances and Challenges
Jan F Scheitz1,2,3,4,5, Luciano A Sposato5,6,7, Jeanette Schulz-Menger8,9
1Department of Neurology With Experimental Neurology Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin Berlin Germany.
Insights
Ischemic stroke often leads to severe cardiac complications, termed stroke-heart syndrome. Understanding its neurocardiogenic mechanisms, involving autonomic dysfunction and inflammation, is crucial for identifying new therapeutic targets.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Neurology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Ischemic stroke frequently causes cardiovascular complications, affecting 10-20% of patients acutely.
- These complications range from myocardial injury and arrhythmias to heart failure, collectively termed stroke-heart syndrome.
- Stroke-heart syndrome encompasses neurocardiogenic mechanisms linking brain injury to cardiac events.
Purpose of the Study:
- To refine understanding of stroke-heart syndrome's clinical manifestations and pathophysiology.
- To explore the role of cerebral and systemic mediators in stroke-induced cardiac injury.
- To highlight the need for collaborative research to identify therapeutic targets.
Main Methods:
- Review of experimental and clinical studies on stroke-heart syndrome.
- Analysis of neurocardiogenic mechanisms, including autonomic dysfunction and inflammation.
- Examination of altered cardiomyocyte metabolism and immune cell dysregulation.
Main Results:
- Stroke-heart syndrome involves autonomic dysfunction, inflammation, altered cardiomyocyte metabolism, and vascular changes.
- Differentiating comorbid cardiovascular disease from stroke-induced injury remains a clinical challenge.
- New findings deepen the understanding of stroke-heart syndrome's pathophysiology.
Conclusions:
- Integrated research in cardiology and neurology is essential for advancing stroke-heart syndrome understanding.
- Identifying specific therapeutic targets requires further investigation.
- Collaborative efforts are needed to develop effective clinical trials for stroke-induced cardiac complications.
Abstract:
After ischemic stroke, there is a significant burden of cardiovascular complications, both in the acute and chronic phase. Severe adverse cardiac events occur in 10% to 20% of patients within the first few days after stroke and comprise a continuum of cardiac changes ranging from acute myocardial injury and coronary syndromes to heart failure or arrhythmia. Recently, the term stroke-heart syndrome was introduced to provide an integrated conceptual framework that summarizes neurocardiogenic mechanisms that lead to these cardiac events after stroke. New findings from experimental and clinical studies have further refined our understanding of the clinical manifestations, pathophysiology, and potential long-term consequences of the stroke-heart syndrome. Local cerebral and systemic mediators, which mainly involve autonomic dysfunction and increased inflammation, may lead to altered cardiomyocyte metabolism, dysregulation of (tissue-resident) leukocyte populations, and (micro-) vascular changes. However, at the individual patient level, it remains challenging to differentiate between comorbid cardiovascular conditions and stroke-induced heart injury. Therefore, further research activities led by joint teams of basic and clinical researchers with backgrounds in both cardiology and neurology are needed to identify the most relevant therapeutic targets that can be tested in clinical trials.
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