ABSTRACT
Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in developed countries. Detection of the source of embolic stroke is important to prevent further insults. Around 20% of strokes are cardioembolic and can be suspected on clinical and neuroimaging grounds, i.e., abrupt onset of neurologic symptoms with lack of preceding transient ischemic attack in patients with atrial fibrillation, striking stroke severity in the elderly, a typical territorial distribution of infarcts with multiplicity in space and age, or other signs of systemic thromboembolism.1 In the vast majority of cases, including patients with artificial valves, the sources of emboli are cardiac thrombi, vegetations, tumors, or complex atheromas.
