The increasing role of transesophageal echocardiography in unexplained cerebral ischemia.
Cerebrovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States.  A significant number of cerebral infarctions are due to a cardiac source of embolus.  Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is being used with increasing frequency to study patients with potential cardiac causes of cerebral ischemia.  TEE has a higher sensitivity for detecting left atrial and left atrial appendage thrombi and for visualizing abnormalities of the atrial septum such as patent foramen ovale and aneurysm.  Abnormalities of the aorta and native and prosthetic valves can now be clearly identified by TEE.  Preliminary data suggest that TEE may influence clinical management in patients with unexplained stroke.
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Saint Louis University Medical Center, Missouri 63110.
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Labovitz
D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity