title: A cardiac cause for deafness.
abstract: We describe a case of a 49-year-old diabetic man with a history of myocardial infarction, presenting with deafness for 2 weeks. Initial assessment by otorhinolaryngologists was suggestive of sensorineural hearing loss. Subsequently, the cardiac evaluation showed an apical clot in the left ventricle. Careful neurological reassessment and a cranial MRI yielded a diagnosis of cortical deafness with auditory agnosia secondary to bilateral temporal infarcts. Doppler and MRI ruled out carotid artery thrombosis. The temporal infarcts were therefore considered to be cardioembolic in origin. Cardioembolic stroke is an important differential diagnosis for patients presenting with neurological symptoms on a background of cardiac disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Kushal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Naha
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vivek
authors.forename: Ranjan K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Shetty
authors.forename: Lorraine Simone
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Dias
mesh_terms: D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006313:Hearing Loss, Central / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D003639:Hearing Loss, Sudden / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009460:Neurologic Examination / Q000379:methods; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013702:Temporal Lobe; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants