NEUROLOGICAL COMPLICATIONS OF HEART-DISEASE

Focal deficits, seizures and epilepsy, altered consciousness, and dist urbed behaviours can complicate heart diseases and their medical treat ment as well as cardiological procedures and cardiac surgery. Neurolog ical complications of common cardiac conditions are discussed. These c ardiac conditions are acute myocardial infarction and ischaemic heart disease, atrial fibrillation and cardiac arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, valvular heart diseases, infective endocarditis, congenital heart disease, invasive cardiological procedures and cardiac surgery. As transient ischaemic attack, stroke, seizures and epilepsy are the m ost common neurological complications, their management is also review ed. Precautions should be taken to prevent neurological complications of heart disease. Regular surveillance for these complications would a llow early diagnosis and initiation of appropriate management.