Embolic events caused by aortic thrombi: an underestimated entity?
Stroke and other thromboembolic events are mainly caused by emboli from heart, aorta and other arteries. In this paper we describe a group of 5 middle-aged patients suffering from emboli caused by large thrombi in the aorta. Since the development of giant thrombi under high flow conditions in the aorta is a pathophysiological process which is not well understood, a model of flow distribution by numerically simulating the Navier-Stokes equation for an incompressible fluid was generated. This model simulated how such thrombi may develop in the aorta. We hypothesize that large thrombi issuing from the aortic vessel wall represent a underestimated entity in middleaged persons and are probably overlooked as the cause of stroke or other embolic events in some cases.
Department for Diagnostic Radiology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Ernst-Grube-Strasse 40, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany. dietrich@stoevesandt.com
Dietrich
D
Stoevesandt
Carsten
C
Klempt
Robert
R
Scheubel
Waldemar
W
Herr
Stefan
S
Hettwer
Karl
K
Werdan
Rolf-Edgar
RE
Silber
Torsten
T
Kraya
Oliver
O
Thews
Axel
A
Schlitt
D000328:Adult; D001011:Aorta / Q000473:pathology*; D004617:Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*