When is isolated vertigo a harbinger of stroke?
Isolated vertigo is usually a distressing though benign clinical entity. Recently, however, it has been recognized that in a subset of patients isolated vertigo may be a harbinger of vertebrobasilar stroke. Recognition of this "at risk" subgroup may be difficult. Brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) are usually normal in patients with vertigo from labyrinthine disease. We describe a patient with isolated vertigo, in whom BAEPs were abnormal, and who subsequently developed an anterior inferior cerebellar artery territory infarct. BAEP testing might lead to early recognition of those patients at risk for catastrophic stroke, and prompt appropriate investigation and treatment to prevent this outcome.
Rao
T H
TH
Department of Neurology, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New Hyde Park, New York 11042.
Libman
R B
RB
D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007758:Ear, Inner / Q000503:physiopathology; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006309:Hearing / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014717:Vertigo / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*