Cardiac CT for the Evaluation of Embolic Sources in Acute Stroke

Cardiac CT appears promising as a tool to detect an embolic source in ischemic stroke.

Although transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is commonly performed for evaluation of potential cardioembolic sources in patients with ischemic stroke, a thrombus or other high-risk source is found only rarely. Whether other forms of cardiac imaging have a higher yield has been of interest. To find out, these authors conducted a prospective, single-center study of patients with suspected stroke who underwent electrocardiogram-gated cardiac computed tomography (CT) at the time of initial brain imaging. Their goal was to compare the identification of high-risk embolic sources with cardiac CT to that with TTE in patients who underwent both tests.

Of 774 patients initially identified, 452 (mean age, 72 years; 59% men) had a stroke confirmed and …

Reviewing Author

Seemant Chaturvedi, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardBayer Pharmaceuticals; Novartis

Grant/Research SupportNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Editorial BoardsNeurology; Stroke

Seemant Chaturvedi, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardBayer Pharmaceuticals; Novartis

Grant/Research SupportNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Editorial BoardsNeurology; Stroke

Cardiac CT for the Evaluation of Embolic Sources in Acute Stroke

Topics

Reviewing Author