Rare cause of cardioembolic stroke in former athlete with dilated cardiomyopathy

Abstract

We present the case of a 50 year-old male, a former athlete with important cardiologic history who presented to our emergency department with sudden onset left side hemiparesis and dysarthria. The cerebral computed tomography showed a recent ischemic lesion in the right temporo-insular area and a spontaneously hyper-dense right middle cerebral artery. The Duplex ultrasound examination of the cervico-cerebral vessels showed significantly enlarged jugular veins, with intraluminal hyperechogenic images. The echocardiography showed severely dilated cardiac cavities, especially left atrium and auricle with many mobile hypoechogenic thrombi. The final diagnosis was cardioembolic stroke due to dilated cardiomyopathy. We chose to present this case in order to raise awareness of this low incidence diagnosis.

Keywords

• cardioembolic stroke
• dilated cardiomyopathy