Global visualization exploration of post-stroke cardiac changes: A bibliometric analysis based on CiteSpace and VOSviewer

Abstract

Background

Stroke and cardiovascular diseases are the two primary contributors to the global disease burden. Modern studies have progressively uncovered the intricate interplay between the brain and the heart, with cerebral injury influencing cardiac dysfunction, leading to a causative relationship. post-stroke cardiac changes, a common clinical disease caused by brain injury resulting in cardiac dysfunction, often presents medical challenges within the first few days after a stroke. Acute brain injuries can trigger heart failure even in the absence of primary heart disease, leading to potential long-term cardiac complications such as myocardial infarction, arrhythmias, and heart failure. These complications have become the second leading cause of death after stroke, with approximately 2–6 % of stroke patients dying from cardiac causes within the first three months after an ischemic stroke. The pathophysiology of post-stroke cardiac changes is still under investigation, and there is no standardized clinical treatment or universally accepted therapeutic approach. This paper aims to review the current global research status and trends in post-stroke cardiac changes.

Methods

Articles on post-stroke cardiac changes published from 1990 to 2025 were identified using the Web of Science Core Collection database. Bibliometric methods were employed to analyze authors, institutions, countries, journals, and references using CiteSpace and VOSviewer, including a total of 268 articles.

Results

The United States leads in the number of publications in this field, followed by Germany. Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin is a leading institution in post-stroke cardiac changes research. Luciano A. Sposato, Zhili Chen, Poornima Venkat, Jan F. Scheitz, Christian H. Nolte, and Matthias Endres have all made significant contributions to this field. The journals Stroke and Annals Of Neurology are considered the most influential in this field. Using cluster analysis, keywords were categorized into four main groups: (1) Stroke-Induced Cardiac Changes; (2) Stroke-Induced Risks and Outcomes; (3) Brain-Heart Interactions; (4) Stroke-Induced Neurogenic Cardiac Injury.

Conclusions

This study systematically summarizes the research outcomes on post-stroke cardiac changes from 1990 to 2025, describing and predicting global research hotspots and trends. Research has found that the number of publications on this topic has been increasing significantly, and future research will constitute critical priorities in three domains: delineating brain-heart interplay mechanisms (particularly neurogenic pathways), characterizing the spectrum of stroke-induced cardiac alterations, and enhancing attention to early risk outcomes. Concurrently, efforts must prioritize refining and expanding therapeutic strategies, which holds significant promise for enhancing clinical applicability.