Investigation of Atrial and Ventricular Arrhythmias in Young Ischemic Cerebrovascular Disease Patients

Esra Polat,1 Hamit Genç,2 Engin Dondurmacı,1 Pelin Yenilmez Yeşildaş,2 Ramazan Şencan,2 Sedat Sakallı11Department of Cardiology, Gaziantep City Hospital, Gaziantep, Turkey; 2Department of Neurology, Gaziantep City Hospital, Gaziantep, TurkeyCorrespondence: Esra Polat, Department of Cardiology, Gaziantep City Hospital, Gaziantep, 27470, Turkey, Tel +90 538 589 97 72, Email esrapolat-1907@hotmail.comPurpose: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a well-established major risk factor for ischemic stroke; however, the potential contribution of other arrhythmias remains insufficiently studied. This study aimed to evaluate atrial and ventricular arrhythmias in young ischemic stroke patients.Patients and methods: Ischemic stroke patients aged 18– 50 years were prospectively examined. The patients’ comorbidities were recorded, electrocardiograms, and echocardiograms were performed, and arrhythmia frequencies were examined using a 48-hour rhythm Holter device during their hospital stay.Results: Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) was the most frequent arrhythmia (12.5%), exceeding AF (4.7%) and ventricular tachycardia (VT) (4.7%) in young stroke patients. LV hypertrophy was observed in 39.1% of patients. Despite the young age of the cohort, 20.3% had recurrent stroke. A relationship was observed between recurrent stroke and chronic renal failure requiring dialysis.Conclusion: A 48-hour short-term Holter monitoring study detected supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias, in addition to atrial fibrillation, in young patients with ischemic stroke. Larger studies involving longer-term rhythm monitoring are needed to confirm these findings.Keywords: stroke in young, supraventricular tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, left ventricular hypertrophy