Shane J T Balthazaar1, Morten Sengeløv2,3,4, Kim Bartholdy2, Lasse Malmqvist2,5, Martin Ballegaard4,5,6, Birgitte Hansen2, Jesper Hastrup Svendsen2,3, Anders Kruse7, Karen-Lise Welling8, Andrei V Krassioukov9,10,11, Fin Biering-Sørensen2,4, Tor Biering-Sørensen2,3,4. 1. Department of Cardiology, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), Canada. 2. Clinic for Spinal Cord Injuries, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. 3. Department of Cardiology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. 4. Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. 5. Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Rigshopitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. 6. Department of Neurology, Zealand University Hospital at Roskilde, Roskilde, Denmark. 7. Spine Unit, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. 8. Department of Neuroanesthesiology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. 9. International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, BC, Canada. 10. Department of Medicine, Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vancouver, BC, Canada. 11. Spinal Cord Program, GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias at six months following traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and to compare the prevalence of arrhythmias between participants with cervical and thoracic SCI. DESIGN: A prospective observational study using continuous twenty-four-hour Holter monitoring. SETTING: Inpatient rehabilitation unit of a university research hospital and patient home setting. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-five participants with acute traumatic SCI were prospectively included. For each participant, the SCI was characterized according to the International Standards for Neurological Classification of SCI by the neurological level and severity according to the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale. OUTCOME MEASURES: Comparisons between demographic characteristics and arrhythmogenic occurrences as early as possible after SCI (4 ± 2 days) followed by 1, 2, 3, 4 weeks and 6 month time points of Holter monitoring. RESULTS: Bradycardia (heart rate [HR] <50 bpm) was present in 29% and 33% of the participants with cervical (C1-C8) and thoracic (T1-T12) SCI six months after SCI, respectively. The differences in episodes of bradycardia between the two groups were not significant (P < 0.54). The mean maximum HR increased significantly from 4 weeks to 6 months post-SCI (P < 0.001), however mean minimum and maximum HR were not significantly different between the groups at the six-month time point. There were no differences in many arrhythmias between recording periods or between groups at six months. CONCLUSIONS: At the six-month timepoint following traumatic SCI, there were no significant differences in occurrences of arrhythmias between participants with cervical and thoracic SCI compared to the findings observed in the first month following SCI.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias at six months following traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and to compare the prevalence of arrhythmias between participants with cervical and thoracic SCI. DESIGN: A prospective observational study using continuous twenty-four-hour Holter monitoring. SETTING: Inpatient rehabilitation unit of a university research hospital and patient home setting. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-five participants with acute traumatic SCI were prospectively included. For each participant, the SCI was characterized according to the International Standards for Neurological Classification of SCI by the neurological level and severity according to the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale. OUTCOME MEASURES: Comparisons between demographic characteristics and arrhythmogenic occurrences as early as possible after SCI (4 ± 2 days) followed by 1, 2, 3, 4 weeks and 6 month time points of Holter monitoring. RESULTS: Bradycardia (heart rate [HR] <50 bpm) was present in 29% and 33% of the participants with cervical (C1-C8) and thoracic (T1-T12) SCI six months after SCI, respectively. The differences in episodes of bradycardia between the two groups were not significant (P < 0.54). The mean maximum HR increased significantly from 4 weeks to 6 months post-SCI (P < 0.001), however mean minimum and maximum HR were not significantly different between the groups at the six-month time point. There were no differences in many arrhythmias between recording periods or between groups at six months. CONCLUSIONS: At the six-month timepoint following traumatic SCI, there were no significant differences in occurrences of arrhythmias between participants with cervical and thoracic SCI compared to the findings observed in the first month following SCI.
Authors: Andrei V Krassioukov; Ann-Katrin Karlsson; Jill M Wecht; Lisa-Ann Wuermser; Christopher J Mathias; Ralph J Marino Journal: J Rehabil Res Dev Date: 2007
Authors: Ian A Ruiz; Jordan W Squair; Aaron A Phillips; Christine D Lukac; Dayan Huang; Patrick Oxciano; Dong Yan; Andrei V Krassioukov Journal: J Neurotrauma Date: 2017-12-18 Impact factor: 5.269
Authors: Fin Biering-Sørensen; Tor Biering-Sørensen; Nan Liu; Lasse Malmqvist; Jill Maria Wecht; Andrei Krassioukov Journal: Auton Neurosci Date: 2017-02-15 Impact factor: 3.145
Authors: Shane J T Balthazaar; Tom E Nightingale; Katharine D Currie; Christopher R West; Teresa S M Tsang; Matthias Walter; Andrei V Krassioukov Journal: Front Cardiovasc Med Date: 2022-06-15
Authors: Mary P M Fossey; Shane J T Balthazaar; Jordan W Squair; Alexandra M Williams; Malihe-Sadat Poormasjedi-Meibod; Tom E Nightingale; Erin Erskine; Brian Hayes; Mehdi Ahmadian; Garett S Jackson; Diana V Hunter; Katharine D Currie; Teresa S M Tsang; Matthias Walter; Jonathan P Little; Matt S Ramer; Andrei V Krassioukov; Christopher R West Journal: Nat Commun Date: 2022-03-16 Impact factor: 14.919