Cardiac Dysfunction After Left Permanent Cerebral Focal Ischemia: The Brain and Heart Connection

• Published in: Stroke (1970) Vol. 40; no. 7; pp. 2560 - 2563
• Main Authors: JIANGYONG MIN, FAROOQ, Muhammad U, GREENBERG, Eric, ALOKA, Feras, BHATT, Archit, KASSAB, Mounzer, MORGAN, James P, MAJID, Arshad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01.07.2009
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Brain - metabolism; Brain - pathology; Brain - physiopathology; Brain Ischemia - complications; Brain Ischemia - physiopathology; Disease Models, Animal; Heart - physiopathology; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery - complications; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery - physiopathology; Male; Medical sciences; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Myocardium - metabolism; Myocardium - pathology; Neurology; Neuropharmacology; Neuroprotective agent; Norepinephrine - metabolism; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Regression Analysis; Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system; Stroke; Nervous system diseases; Rodentia; Cardiovascular disease; Myocardial ischemia; Catecholamine; Coronary heart disease; Myocardial disease; Cerebral disorder; Vascular disease; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Mouse; mouse focal ischemia; Animal; Central nervous system disease; left insular cortex lesion; Neurotransmitter; Brain ischemia; Norepinephrine; cardiac dysfunction; Insular cortex; Cerebrovascular disease
• ISSN: 0039-2499; 1524-4628
• DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.108.536086

Stroke can lead to cerebrogenic cardiac arrhythmias. We sought to investigate the effect of ischemic stroke on cardiac function in a mouse model of permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO). Twenty-four hours after the induction of focal ischemia, cardiac function was measured in mice by endovascular catheterization of the heart. Immediately after hemodynamic measurements, mice were euthanized and brains were excised and sectioned to measure infarct volume and the severity of insular cortex injury. Myocardial damage was evaluated by hematoxylin-eosin staining. Serum and heart levels of norepinephrine (NE) were also determined. Cardiac dysfunction occurred in 9 out of 14 mice that underwent left pMCAO. In these 9 mice, the severity of left insular cortex lesion was greater than the mice with normal heart function. The serum and heart levels of NE were significantly higher in left pMCAO mice with heart dysfunction. Liner regression analysis indicates significant inverse correlation between the severity of left insular cortex damage and heart dysfunction. Mice that underwent right pMCAO did not exhibit cardiac dysfunction. This study shows that left focal cerebral ischemia can produce cardiac dysfunction, which is associated with the extent of left insular cortex damage. Furthermore, mice exhibiting cardiac dysfunction had elevated levels of NE in the serum and heart.