Prognostic value of QT dispersion in acute stroke

Central nervous system mediated cardiac injury is a field of growing interest pertaining to brain-heart interactions. Our group previously found higher QT dispersion, calculated as the difference between the maximum and minimum QT intervals on the admission ECG to be predictive of adverse outcomes in patients presenting with neurological events. In another study, absolute changes in QTD were found related to changes in neurological function. Among 70 patients age 71 ± 13 years, (50% male), QTD was significantly greater in patients with elevated cardiac troponin T levels (71 ± 13 msecs vs 42 ± 16 msecs; p < .001). These results suggest higher QTD to be associated with myocardial injury in patients with acute neurological events.