Diagnostic value of cardiovascular biomarkers for cerebral–cardiac syndrome risk in acute ischemic stroke

Background Cerebral–cardiac syndrome (CCS) is a complication commonly observed following an ischemic stroke, which results in increased morbidity and mortality. Timely diagnosis of CCS is of prognostic significance. This study investigates the significance of multiple cardiovascular biomarkers for CCS in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Methods This study retrospectively analyzed 177 patients with AIS admitted to Yongchuan People’s Hospital of Chongqing from March 2022 to March 2023. Plasma levels of BNP (B-type natriuretic peptide), cTnI (cardiac Troponin I), Myo (myoglobin), CK-MB (creatine kinase isoenzyme), D-Dimer (DD), FDP (fibrin degradation product), and CRP (C-reactive protein) were measured. Multivariable Firth’s penalized logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors for CCS, and receiver operating characteristic analysis and bootstrap validation were performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance. Results CCS occurred in 97 patients (54.8%). BNP, DD, cTnI, Myo, and CK-MB were significantly elevated in the CCS group compared to the non-CCS group (all p < 0.001). After adjustment for covariates, age (OR = 1.047, p = 0.036), BNP (OR = 1.028, p < 0.001), and Myo (OR = 1.003, p = 0.048) remained as independent risk factors. The combined model incorporating age, BNP, and Myo yielded an area under the curve of 0.945 (95% CI: 0.914–0.977), with bootstrap-adjusted AUC = 0.941, indicating excellent discriminatory ability of the model and strong concordance with the clinical diagnosis. Conclusion Age, BNP, and Myo constitute a robust diagnostic model for the early identification of CCS in AIS patients. This panel may facilitate timely risk stratification and intervention in the clinical management of CCS.