In fact, there is a huge burden of early cardiovascular complications after stroke. Our own findings show that many patients with stroke experience cardiac injury and dysfunction during the early post-stroke phase. These patients are at high risk for short-term and long-term major adverse cardiovascular events and death.
To provide a pathophysiological framework for the entire spectrum of post-stroke cardiac complications, our group formulated the concept of a distinct ‘stroke–heart syndrome’. This novel syndrome is based on the hypothesis that vascular brain damage can lead to cardiac injury and prompt deleterious cardiac tissue remodeling over time. Together with our interdisciplinary partners, our ongoing research aims to improve our understanding of the interplay between I) stroke-related neuronal factors, II) systemic mediators, and III) downstream cardiac changes that lead to the clinical manifestations of the stroke-heart syndrome.
