Cerebral infarction and ventricular septal defect.

Abstract

With the availability of contrast echocardiography, patent foramen ovale is frequently detected in patients with stroke, especially in those with no clear etiology and/or the young patient with stroke. Before this report, an association of stroke with ventricular septal defect had not been reported. In this communication, we describe a 38-year-old patient who developed an occipital lobe infarction and who, on investigation, was found to have a ventricular septal defect. Other investigations, which included four-vessel cerebral angiography, collagen disease workup, and coagulation profile, were all normal. We believe this case further extends the spectrum of cerebral ischemic events that may occur with intracardiac shunts.