A comparative clinical and neuroimaging study of venous and arterial strokes

Abstract

Eighty four patients with clinical signs of acute cerebrovasculardisease were examined. According to MRI, 20 patients were diagnosedwith venous infarction, and 64 patients were diagnosedwith arterial infarction. Venous strokes developed more frequentlyin patients at a relatively young age and in females. The clinicalpicture of venous stroke is characterized by subacute and slowdevelopment of clinical manifestations; prevalence of cerebralsymptoms over focal symptoms; symptoms indicative of cerebralvenous discirculation; a tendency towards relatively rapid regressionof cerebral symptoms. According to MRI, the localizationof infarction in venous stroke does not coincide with territoriesof blood supply to the main intracranial arteries; the form of fociis irregular, and their contours are rough and indistinct; signs ofcerebral venous discirculation, intracranial venous stasis, and vasogenicedema are visualized.

Keywords

• venous stroke
• neurological deficit
• functional status
• magnetic resonance imaging