title: An unusual cause of stroke in a 55-year-old woman.
abstract: A 55-year-old woman presented with acute onset ataxia and right-sided dysmetria. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirmed clinical suspicion of stroke. She was found to have middiastolic murmur which led to urgent echocardiogram demonstrating left atrial myxoma. She underwent prompt surgical resection. Cardiac myxoma is a very rare cause of stroke. The presentation can be varied and diagnosis can be often missed. Early surgical intervention is a definitive treatment. Our case is unique and underlines importance of eliciting accurate physical signs at bedside.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Neurology-Duke University Hospital , Durham, NC , USA.
authors.forename: Sankalp
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gokhale
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pfannl
authors.forename: Ciro
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ramos-Estebanez
mesh_terms: D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D019042:Muscle Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology*; D009232:Myxoma / Q000150:complications*; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*