Cardiovascualr changes with acute subdural hematoma.

Of 100 consecutive patients with acute subdural hematoma, 53 survived. Blood pressure and heart rate changes were not reliable indicators of increased intracranial pressure or cerebral disaster. Electrocardiographic changes in these patients were dramatic. Forty-one patients developed a new cardiac arrhythmia. Increased intracranial pressure and brain lesions adversely affect the heart. These effects must be recognized and appropriately treated.