Inflammation as a Source of Cardiac Injury After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Correlation of Inflammatory Parameters with the Development of Cerebral Vasospasm, Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy, and Functional Outcome after Spontaneous Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Background: The present work aimed to determine whether a relationship exists between inflammatory parameters and the development of vasospasm (VS) and Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC), as well as clinical outcome, in patients suffering from spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Methods: In this study, the authors processed the prospectively collected laboratory and clinical data of spontaneous SAH patients admitted to the neurointensive care unit between March 2015 and October 2023. The highest values of neutrophils (NEUpeak), monocytes (MONOpeak), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLRpeak), and CRP (CRPpeak) during the initial 7 days were correlated with the occurrence of VS and TTC, and with the outcome measures at day 30 after onset. Results: Data were collected from 175 SAH patients. Based on ROC analysis, for the development of VS, MONOpeak was the most accurate indicator (AUC: 0.619, optimal cut-off: 1.45 G/L). TTC with severe left ventricular dysfunction (ejection fraction < 40%) was indicated most sensitively by NEUpeak (ROC: 0.763, optimal cut-off: 12.34 G/L). Both for GOS and Barthel Index at day 30, CRPpeak was the best predictor for the outcome (GOS: ROC: 0.846, optimal cut-off: 78.33 mg/L and Barthel Index: ROC: 0.819, optimal cut-off: 78.33 mg/L). Conclusions: Laboratory parameters referring to inflammation during the initial 7 days after SAH correlate with the development of VS and TTC, and thus may predict functional outcome.