Twelve-lead electrocardiogram and mortality in young adults after ischaemic stroke:

IntroductionIschaemic stroke at young age carries an increased risk for mortality in comparison to the general population, but factors associated with mortality have been poorly studied. We studied the role of electrocardiogram in mortality risk stratification in young stroke patients.Patients and methodsThe Helsinki Young Stroke Registry encompasses 1008 patients aged <50 years with ischaemic stroke. We included 690 patients for this electrocardiogram substudy. Our endpoints were all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Cox regression models – adjusted for clinical and demographic characteristics – were used to identify the electrocardiogram parameters associated with these endpoints.ResultsAt a mean follow-up of 8.8 years, cumulative all-cause and cardiovascular mortality were 16.1 and 9.1%, respectively. Factors associated with both endpoints included diabetes (type 1 for all-cause, type 2 for cardiovascular mortality), heavy drinking, malignancy, as well as stroke severity and aetiology. Of the electro...