[Stroke: Holter monitoring in 15 hypertensive patients]

The objective of the study is to evaluate the prevalence of ventricular arrhythmias during acute stroke in hypertensive patients: 15 hypertensive patients (9 males and 6 females; mean age 56 +/- 5) without clinical and electrocardiographic evidence of organic heart disease underwent 24 hour Holter monitoring during acute stroke. Another group of 15 uncomplicated hypertensive patients (14 males and 1 female, mean age 49 +/- 5) without clinical and electrocardiographic evidence of organic heart disease underwent 24 hours Holter monitoring as controls. The Holter monitoring was repeated in 8 patients who survived during follow-up, after a mean period of 15 months: 13/15 (86%) patients with acute stroke had ventricular arrhythmias against the 7/15 (47%) in the control group. Moreover 9/15 (60%) of patients with stroke had complex ventricular arrhythmias against the 3/15 (20%) in the control group; 6/8 patients who survived stroke, during follow-up showed complex ventricular arrhythmias but the degree of severity was lower when compared to the acute phase; 9 patients during acute stroke showed episodes of prolongation of QTc interval during Holter monitoring. The systolic blood pressure was found generally higher during the acute phase of stroke than before. Our results show higher prevalence of ventricular arrhythmias especially of the complex forms during acute stroke in hypertensive patients.