To evaluate the function of left ventricle in patients with acute brain injury.

Eighty-five patients with acute brain injury under the age of 50 were assessed by echocardiography in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Craniocerebral Trauma Center, Beijing Chaoyang Emergency Medical Center from January 2015to October 2015. Assessed parameters of heart function included left ventricular diameter (LVD), left ventricular volume (LVV), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and mitral valve E/A ratio. Seventy-four patients under the age of 50 who would undergo surgery for peripheral trauma or limb orthopedic operation at the same hospital were included as a control group.

LVD and LVV in the acute brain injury group were significantly higher than those of the control group [LVD: (47.8±4.3) mm vs (45.8±3.3) mm, t=2.57, P=0.02; LVV: (107.1±26.4) mL vs (98.5±18.8) mL, t=2.33, P=0.02]. LVEF in the acute brain injury group was significantly lower than that of the control group [(54.7±8.2)% vs (60.9±6.38)%, t=-5.26, P=0.00]. E/A rate did not differ significantly between the two groups (P>0.05). In the acute brain injury group, 7 (7/85, 8.2%) cases had reduced (LVEF<50%), 28 (28/85, 32.9%) cases had regional wall motion abnormalities, and 2 (2/85, 2.4%) cases presented with ventricular global ballooning and hypokinesis (atypical Takotsubo cardiomyopathy).

Cardiac dysfunction after acute brain injury is not rare. Attention should be paid to this serious issue in clinical practice, and assessment of left ventricular function in these patients by echocardiography can provide valuable information for clinical management.