Spontaneous cerebral embolus from a calcified aortic valve.

Abstract

E mboli are a known cause of cerebrovascular infarct or transient ischemic attack. Causes of emboli include atheromatous carotid arteries. calcifled ascending aorta. and cardiac mural thrombus, or the cause may be unknown L 1. 2]. Spontaneous embolus from a calcified aortic valve is a rare cause of cerebral ischemia [I, 3, 41. In published reports. most calcific emboli are reported to occur after invasive procedures such as valvuloplasty. valvular surgery, or cardiac catheterization [3, 5, 6]. We report a middle-aged patient with a calcifled embolus to the right middle cerebral artery that originated spontaneously from a calcified bicuspid aortic valve.