| Abstract | Children with cardiac disease are at great risk for arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) and account for up to 30% of all childhood strokes. However, cognitive impairments in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) are not always related to stroke lesion characteristics. Little is known regarding the relationship between cognitive function and hypoperfusion in the brains of adolescent children with CHD following ischemic injury. The purpose of the present evaluation is to investigate cognitive outcomes and white matter apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) in children with CHD+AIS. We hypothesize a gradient of ADC abnormality that is associated with a spectrum of cognitive outcome. Three adolescents with a history of CHD+AIS and three age-matched healthy controls underwent MRI diffusion weighted imaging to collect ADC values. Neuropsychological assessments included the BRIEF Parent Report to measure executive function and WISC sub-tests to measure intelligence. Overall, the CHD+AIS cohort scored below average on the working memory (M=84, SD=3.5) and processing speed indexes (M=87.7, SD=26.4). Interestingly, processing speed and global executive composite (M=61, SD=13.5) scores displayed a spectrum of impairment that corresponded to a spectrum of ADCs. This preliminary data suggests that specific cognitive outcomes may be moderated by hypoperfusion in the brains of childhood stroke patients. |
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| First Author | Maria Vu |
| Second Author | Kirstin Walker |
| Third Author | Amanda Robertson |
| Fourth Author | Trish Domi |
| Fifth Author | Liza Pulcine |
| Sixth Author | Robyn Westmacott |
| Seventh Author | David Mikulis |
| Eighth Author | Brian McCrindle |
| Ninth Author | Nomazulu Dlamini |
