Global Aphasia Secondary to Bilateral Thalamic Hyperintensities Post-cardiac Arrest

Thalamic aphasia is thought to occur secondary to disruptions in the cortico-subcortical connections. Although rare, thalamic aphasia is a well-known phenomenon that usually presents with primarily lexical-semantic deficits with preservation of comprehension and repetition. Global aphasia secondary to thalamic injury is extremely rare, with only a few case reports of patients with left thalamic hemorrhages. The prognosis for thalamic aphasia is generally good, with most patients showing little to no symptoms after days or weeks. However, global thalamic aphasia carries a more guarded prognosis with limited recovery months after injury. Here, we report a case of global thalamic aphasia secondary to bilateral thalamic damage post-cardiac arrest.