The Relationships Between BNP and Neurocardiac Injury Severity, Noninvasive Cardiac Output, and Outcomes After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Introduction:Neurocardiac injury, a type of myocardial dysfunction associated with neurological insult to the brain, occurs in 31–48% of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) patients. Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is commonly used to diagnose neurocardiac injury. Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), another cardiac marker, is more often used to evaluate degree of heart failure. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between BNP and (a) neurocardiac injury severity according to cTnI, (b) noninvasive continuous cardiac output (NCCO), and (c) outcomes in aSAH patients.Method:This descriptive longitudinal study enrolled 30 adult aSAH patients. Data collected included BNP and cTnI levels and NCCO parameters for 14 days and outcomes (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] and mortality) at discharge and 3 months. Generalized estimating equations were used to evaluate associations between BNP and cTnI, NCCO, and outcomes.Results:BNP was significantly associated with cTnI. For every 1 unit increase in log B...