CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Objective: To describe and detect myocardial changes in patients with stroke (S) and head trauma (HT) and itsinfluence on associated cardiovascular complicationsBackground: As cardiovascular risk factors are related to the development of cerebrovascular events, stroke canbe considered an independent risk factor for the development of cardiac complications. This statement is basedon epidemiological evidence, analysis of pathophysiological mechanisms and specific histological findings. Inaddition, the vulnerability of atherosclerotic plaques has been associated with the development of angiogenesisand microvascular inflammationDesign/Methods:We analyzed cardiac tissue samples taken from people between the ages of 40 and 59 who suffered from braindeath secondary to stroke (ischemic or haemorrhagic) or traumatic brain injuries. We compared global heartparameters (weight, thickness of the left ventricle) and macro and microscopic morphology of the coronaryarteries and their atheromatous plaques.Results:192 samples were analized. A higher cardiac weight and increased thickness of the left ventricle walls wereobserved in tissues from patients with stroke compared to patients with head trauma.Regarding coronary arteries, the samples of patients with stroke showed a greater amount of: advancedatheroma plaques, intraplaque hemorrhage, intraplaque and adventitial inflammation and vasa vasorumangiogenesis.The intraplaque inflammation was higher in coronary arteries of patients with hemorrhagic stroke (62%), ischemicstroke (52.2%) and lower in patients with HT (36.7%; p = 0.02).Conclusions:In this population, changes in the morphology of the heart and coronary arteries are a reflection of theneurological pathology that led to brain death. The histopathological findings of coronary plaques (intraplaquehemorrhage, inflammation and angiogenesis) reflect a systemic process that could be considered as a surrogateof the damage triggered by the cerebrovascular event.