AUTHOR=Nouh Amre , Hussain Mohammed , Mehta Tapan , Yaghi Shadi 

TITLE=Embolic Strokes of Unknown Source and Cryptogenic Stroke: Implications in Clinical Practice

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2016.00037

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2016.00037

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=<p>Up to a third of strokes are rendered cryptogenic or of undetermined etiology. This number is specifically higher in younger patients. At times, inadequate diagnostic workups, multiple causes, or an under-recognized etiology contributes to this statistic. Embolic stroke of undetermined source, a new clinical entity particularly refers to patients with embolic stroke for whom the etiology of embolism remains unidentified despite through investigations ruling out established cardiac and vascular sources. In this article, we review current classification and discuss important clinical considerations in these patients; highlighting cardiac arrhythmias and structural abnormalities, patent foramen ovale, paradoxical sources, and potentially under-recognized, vascular, inflammatory, autoimmune, and hematologic sources in relation to clinical practice.</p>