Embolic Disease Defined

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Embolic Disease
Emboli causing strokes may originate in the left atrium due to atrial fibrillation, on a hypokinetic left ventricular wall segment, or in valvular vegetations, an atheromatous aortic arch, or stenosed carotid bifurcations, or from the systemic venous system in the presence of a right-to-left shunt, such as a patent foramen ovale. The majority of emboli enter the anterior (carotid) circulation rather than the posterior (vertebrobasilar) circulation. Characteristic clinical syndromes result from embolic occlusion of the various vessels.