This study has the following aims: To determine if there are differences in cardiac outcomes between right and left hemisphere strokes sparing the insular during the first week after stroke onset. To determine if differences in cardiac outcomes at one week between right and left hemispheric stroke are related to differences in cardiac autonomic (principally sympathetic) tone. To determine if stroke location, sympathetic tone, cardiac parameters during the acute phase, and routine clinical and demographic factors, alone or in combination, predict adverse cardiac outcome after stroke during one year of follow-up"