Transesophageal Echo Study in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke

Abstract

Background: Stroke is one of the major causes of death and disability and due to the high mortality and morbidity rates associated with stroke ,it is becoming a major community health problem worldwide. It has been estimated that cardiogenic emboli are a source of transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke in 20% to 40% of all cases. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) has been proven superior to transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) for the detection of potential sources of cardiac embolism in patients with previous stroke. In particular, the additional value of TEE in the patients above 45 years of age, in whom TEE is still far from routine procedure, was evaluated. In addition, emphasis was placed on therapeutic consequences, ie, the indication for anticoagulation, based on the results of TEE. Aim of the work : The aim of our study is to evaluate the role of TEE (transesophagealecho) to find indications of anticoagulation despite false absence of its benefit by clinical and transthoracicecho (TTE) examination. Patient and methods:The study was conducted in Zagazig university hospitals and included 100 patients diagnosed with ischemic stroke The diagnosis of stroke was made based on clinical data and brain CT. A full TEE was done and the presence of the following potential sources of embolism was specifically examined (a)left atrial spontaneous echo contrast and thrombus , (b)Impaired Left atrial appendage velocity and the presence of LAA (Left atrial appendage )thrombi , (c)Atheroma in the thoracic aorta, (d)Patent foramen ovale and atrial septal aneurysm (e) others, including valvular vegetations and intracardiac masses . Results:Among the different age groups studied , the prevalence of PFO and MVP (mitral valve prolapse) were highest in patients ˂ 45 years old while the prevalence of complex aortic atheroma was highest in patients ˃45 years old .Risk of stroke recurrence was highest in patients with complex aortic atheroma .Among patients with dyslipidemia,prevalance of ischemic stroke was highest in those older than 45 years old and was significantly higher in low HDL (high density lipoprotein ) (˂40 mg/dl ) and high cholesterol (˃200 mg/dl) group.Furthermore, the risk of stroke recurrence was significantly higher in patients with hypercholesterolemia. Conclusion: TEE has proved to be a very useful tool in diagnosing causes of ischemic stroke .The benefit was not only seen in young age (˂45 years old), but also in those in older age groups .