[Floating thrombus in the carotid]

The cardiogenic origin of stroke is often established on the basis of documented arrhythmia, computed tomographic evidence of cerebral ischemia, duplex Doppler findings ruling out an atheromatous carotid origin, and sometimes visualization of an intracavitary thrombus at transesophageal echocardiography. In case of a large thrombus as observed in our present patient, duplex Doppler provides an important means of visualizing the thrombus despite the lack of a parietal lesions suggestive of atheromatosis.