Prevalence of complicated carotid atherosclerotic plaques ispilateral to ischemic cryptogenic stroke using high-resolution mri

Introduction Although distinct pathogenetic mechanisms for ischemic stroke have long been recognized, a definite or even probable etiology can not be established in about one third of all patients (“cryptogenic strokes”). Recent studies have shown that high-resolution carotid MRI is able to identify complicated American Heart Association lesion type VI (AHA-LT6) with hemorrhage, thrombus or rupture of the fibrous cap with good correlation to histopathology. Purpose The purpose of our study was to evaluate the prevalence of AHA-LT6 in carotid arteries of subjects with cryptogenic stroke.