The hemisphere of the brain in which a stroke has occurred visible in the heart rate variability

Objective : Can the localization of an ischemic stroke in the hemisphere of the brain be assessed on the basis of the heart rate variability? Is there a difference in heart rate variability between people with right hemisphere stroke and people with left hemisphere stroke? Methods : 24h analysis of RR intervals of people in the acute phase of stroke. The research group consisted of 25 people after ischemic stroke of the right hemisphere and 39 people after ischemic stroke of the left hemisphere. Standard linear methods were used to analyze heart rate variability in the time and frequency domains, as well as nonlinear methods - Sample Entropy, Detrended Fluctuation Analysis and asymmetry measures. Results : Statistically significant results between right and left hemispheric stroke subjects are shown for the pNN50(p-value=0.028) and Sample Entropy (p-value=0.010). The results for the RMSSD (0.052) are also close to statistical significance. People with a right hemisphere stroke are characterized by reduced parasympathetic activity and a lower complexity of heart rate variability compared to the group of people with left hemispheric ischemic stroke. Conclusion : Based on the heart rate variability in the acute phase of an ischemic stroke, it is possible to determine the location of the stroke in the right brain hemisphere or the left brain hemisphere.