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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Cardiac Magnetic Resonance for the Evaluation of Suspected Cardiac Thrombus: Conventional and Emerging Techniques
Published on: June 11, 2019
Mild left ventricular dysfunction is associated with thrombogenicity in cardioembolic stroke
Hyung-Min Kwon1, Jong-Ho Park, Jeong-Min Kim
1Department of Neurology, Kyunghee University East-West Neo Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
Insights
Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) can identify cardiac thrombus in stroke patients. Perform TEE in patients with atrial fibrillation or reduced left ventricular ejection fraction after suspected cardioembolic stroke.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Neurology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is crucial for detecting left cardiac thrombus (LCT) and spontaneous echocardiographic contrast (SEC).
- Identifying patients who would benefit most from TEE for suspected cardioembolic stroke is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine risk groups for performing TEE in patients with suspected cardioembolic stroke.
- To correlate TEE findings of thrombogenicity with patient characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Analyzed 146 patients with suspected cardioembolic stroke.
- Utilized TEE to assess for LCT and SEC, indicating thrombogenicity.
- Evaluated associations between thrombogenicity and demographic, clinical, and echocardiographic factors.
Main Results:
- Thrombogenicity was observed in 27.3% of patients (40/146), with 10 LCT and 30 SEC.
- Independent predictors of thrombogenicity included atrial fibrillation (OR 7.14) and left ventricular ejection fraction ≤50% (OR 4.01).
Conclusions:
- TEE is recommended for patients with suspected cardioembolic stroke and mildly reduced left ventricular dysfunction (ejection fraction ≤50%).
- Atrial fibrillation is a significant risk factor for thrombogenicity detected by TEE.
Background:
Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) has been recognized as a valuable tool for identifying the left cardiac thrombus (LCT) or spontaneous echocardiographic contrast (SEC). We aimed to identify risk groups where TEE should be performed in patients with suspected cardioembolic stroke according to magnetic resonance imaging analysis.
Methods:
One hundred and forty-six patients (mean age 64.7 +/- 11.8 years, 101 males) with suspected cardioembolic stroke were analyzed. We used TEE for the presence of LCT and/or SEC as indication of thrombogenicity. We evaluated the association between thrombogenicity and demographic features, stroke risk factors and echocardiographic variables.
Results:
The study included 40 patients (27.3%) who showed thrombogenicity (10 LCT and 30 SEC). The independent echocardiographic variables of thrombogenicity were atrial fibrillation (OR 7.14; 95% CI 2.62-19.48; p < 0.001) and left ventricular ejection fraction =50% (OR 4.01; 95% CI 1.40-11.49; p = 0.01).
Conclusion:
We recommend that TEE should be considered in patients with mildly reduced left ventricular dysfunction (ejection fraction =50%) after suspected cardioembolic stroke.
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