Serum troponin is often elevated in patients with acute stroke and its mechanism is unknown. In a retrospective single-center cohort study, we evaluated the association between stroke severity and serum troponin in 187 patients with acute stroke using multivariable modified Poisson models. A one-point increase in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (measure of stroke severity) was associated with a marginally higher serum troponin level in adjusted models (aIRR 1.03; 1.01-1.05, P = 0.001). The modest, yet potentially independent, association between stroke severity and serum troponins could suggest a neurogenic basis for a cardiac injury in patients with acute stroke.
Keywords: Stroke; negative binomial; severity; troponin.