Asymptomatic cerebral embolic signals in patients with acute cerebral ischaemia and severe aortic arch atherosclerosis

Severe aortic arch atheroma (AAA) is a strong risk factor for ischaemic stroke, but it is unclear whether AAA is a source of cerebral emboli or simply a marker of cerebral atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to find out the prevalence of asymptomatic cerebral embolic signals (ES) in patie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of neurology 2001-09, Vol.248 (9), p.768-771
Main Authors: VIGUIER, Alain, LE TRAON, Anne Pavy, MASSABUAU, Pierre, VALTON, Luc, LARRUE, Vincent
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aneurysms
Aorta, Thoracic - diagnostic imaging
Arteriosclerosis - diagnostic imaging
Asymptomatic
Atherosclerosis
Biological and medical sciences
Blood clots
Brain Ischemia - complications
Brain Ischemia - diagnostic imaging
Coronary vessels
Echocardiography, Transesophageal
Embolisms
Female
Flow velocity
Humans
Intracranial Embolism - complications
Intracranial Embolism - diagnostic imaging
Intracranial Embolism - epidemiology
Ischemia
Male
Medical imaging
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Neurology
Prevalence
Prospective Studies
Stroke
Stroke - diagnostic imaging
Stroke - etiology
Transient ischemic attack
Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial
Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system
Veins & arteries
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Description
Summary:Severe aortic arch atheroma (AAA) is a strong risk factor for ischaemic stroke, but it is unclear whether AAA is a source of cerebral emboli or simply a marker of cerebral atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to find out the prevalence of asymptomatic cerebral embolic signals (ES) in patients with acute cerebral ischaemia, AAA and no other potential source of cerebral embolism. Forty patients with anterior circulation ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) were prospectively studied using transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and transcranial Doppler (TCD) scanning within seven days of symptom onset. Patients with a cardiac source of embolism or carotid stenosis > 50% were excluded. ES were detected in 14.3% (2/14) of patients with AAA > or = 4 mm and in no patients with AAA < 4 mm or no AAA (p=0.14). The findings suggest that ES may be associated with severe AAA but their prevalence is low in this setting.
ISSN:0340-5354
1432-1459
DOI:10.1007/s004150170092