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A 55 year-old woman presented with confusion, right sided weakness and new onset atrial fibrillation. |
| Shower of Emboli: Diffusion weighted MRI axial images. Note the multiple areas of diffusion abnormalities that indicate acute infarction. These areas are present in the bilateral middle cerebral and left posterior cerebral artery distributions. The large infarct in the left frontal lobe resulted in the patient's symptoms of aphasia and right sided weakness. This pattern of multiple, acute cortical strokes in different vascular territories usually signifies a shower of emboli, typically from a cardiac source. In this patient, the atrial fibrillation was the likely cardiac etiology. |
Revised
11/30/06
Copyrighted 2006. David C Preston