Myocardial ischemic changes of electrocardiogram in intracerebral hemorrhage: A case report and review of literature

BACKGROUND: Cardiac injury may occur after acute pathology of central nervous system (CNS) without any evidence of primary cardiac diseases. The resulting structural and/or functional changes are called cerebrocardiac syndrome (CCS). The great majority of studies have been performed in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), while CCS data after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) are rare. It may cause diagnostic and therapeutic pitfalls for the clinician due to a lack of specific clinical manifestations and diagnostic methods. Understanding the underlying pathophysiological and molecular mechanism(s) following cerebrovascular incidents will help to implement prevention and treatment strategies to improve the prognosis. CASE SUMMARY: A 37-year-old man with a history of hypertension presented to our department on an emergency basis because of a sudden dizziness and left limb weakness. Cerebral computed tomography (CT) suggested ICH in the occipital and parietal lobes, and the chosen emergency treatment was hematoma evacuation. Left ventricular (LV) dysfunction occurred after the next 48 h and the electrocardiogram (ECG) showed non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. CCS was suspected first in the context of ICH due to the negative result of the coronary CT angiogram. CONCLUSION: Misinterpretation of ischemic-like ECGs may lead to unnecessary or hazardous interventions and cause undue delay of rehabilitation after stroke. Our objective is to highlight the clinical implications of CCS and we hope the differential diagnoses will be considered in patients with acute CNS diseases.