Stroke Flashcards
What is the most common cause of MCA occlusion?
Atherosclerosis of CCA and ICA
What percentage of pts show CT abnormalities at 3-6 hours? 24 hours?
60%
100%
What CT findings preclude use of tPa?
Hemorrhage Involvement of >1/3rd MCA territory hypodensity >4.5 hours from onset Mass effect
What is the MRI appearance of acutre (
Earliest: Intravascular enhancement sign; seen w/in 2 hours
- Meningeal enhancement up to 3 days
- Cortical edema (increase signal on FLAIR) early as 3 hours
- Occluded arteries will be bright on FLAIR and low on GRE
What is the appearance of acute infarct on GRE?
Dilated veins with low signal in region of infarct
How do subacute MCA infarct appear on CT (2-21day)
- Hemorrhagic transformation most common 1-4 days
- Mass effect increases in first 3 days
- Wedge shaped hypodensity in area of infarct involving both grey and white matter
-Gyral enhancement 3-7 days after, better prognosis
When do most hemorrhagic transformations occur in infract? How many occur?
When does gyral enhancement occur? What is the significance?
1-4 days, 15%
3-7 days, denotes luxury perfusion and portends a better prognosis
What is the most common cause of hemorrhagic transformation of MCA stroke?
Thrombolytic therapy
What is the MR appearance of subacute infarct (2-21days)
Parenchymal enhancement 3-7days, persisting up to 6 months
Hyperintense on FLAIR and T2
At 14 days, T2 signal begins to drop
DWI fades around 7-10 days, gone by 14 days
when does DWI signal disappear in stroke?
7-10 days, gone by 14
What is the main cause of ACA stroke? Which other vessel is usually involved?
What is the imaging pattern?
Primary vessel disease, not emboli. Can be secondary to clipping of artery with subfalcine herniation
ICA
CT hypodensity and T2/FLAIR hyperintesnsity along the medial cerebral convexity
What is the common cause of PCA infarct? Where is the signal seen?
What is the symptom?
Downward transtentorial herniation secondary to compression of PCA between temporal lobe and edge of tentorium
Medial occiptal lobe
Homonymous hemianopsia
What are the considerations in stroke in a young person?
Trauma Drug overdose (cocaine, amphetamines) Coagulopathy (SCD, antiphospholipid) Vasculitides (lupus, wegeners) OCP Steroids
What are the two main associations with lacunar infarct?
What is the pathology? What arterial systems are mainly involved?
Age and HTN
Hyalinization of arteries leading to THROMBUS, not emboli
Lenticulostriate and thalamoperforators (basal ganglia, internal capsule, thalamus)
Also with basilar perforators, leads to brainstem infarct
Where are the watershed zones in the brain? What is a secondary consideration of watershed infarct other than hypotension or ICA occlusion
Between ACA and MCA territories Between PCA and MCA territories Parasagittal white matter Deep cerebellum Corpus Callosum
Fat emboli look the same as watershed infarcts
What is the difference between a hemorrhagic infarction and hemorrhagic transformation?
Infarct is when blood is present within 24 hours of symptom onset
Transformation is when blood is present between 2-14 days after onset
What is most common cause of hemorrhagic transformation?
Thrombolytic therapy (sudden reperfusion)
What percentage of infarcts are hemorrhagic?
What are indications of pending hemorrhagic transformation?
Poor pial collaterals, significant CT hypodensity, presence of microbleeds elsewhere
What shoudl be suspected with hemorrhage in nonarterial distribution?
Venous bleed
Which MR sequence is more sensitive for microbleeds?
GRE
What is wallerian degeneration?
What is it seen with?
Anterograde degeneration of axons and myelin; increased DWI signal following corticospinal tracts
MCA infarct
also seen with hemorrhage, tumor, trauma, WM disease
When does Wallerian degeneration occur after stroke?
How does it appear on MRI?
4 weeks; band of T2 hypointensity along ipsilateral corticospinal tract
2-3 months; ipsilateral corticospinal tract becomes hypERintense on T2 with associated ATROPHY
Can also see ipisilateral medial thalamic T2 hyperintensity
Brainstem atrophy and increased T2 signal
What cerebellar arteries are most commonly infarcted?
What are the associations?
What are the dreaded complications?
PICA»_space; SCA/AICA
Vertebral dissection (younger), Basilar disease (older)
Upward cerebellar herniation, downward tonsillar herniation with compression of brainstem
What is wallenburg syndrome? What vessel is associated?
Ipsilateral; pain/temp loss, ataxia, dysarthria/dysphagiapsilateral
Contralateral; pain and temp in trunk and limbs
vertigo (vestibular nucleus)
PICA