Abstract
A 61-year-old man with a history of hypertension suffered dysarthria, and visited our hospital in July 2006. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after arrival revealed cerebral infarction of the cerebral cortex in the territory of the left middle cerebral artery, and MR angiography (MRA) demonstrated mild irregularity of the left internal carotid artery. The patient was given a platelet inhibitor intravenously after admission. At 7 days after onset, he suddenly developed pain and cyanosis of the left leg. Three-dimensional computed tomographic angiography (3D-CTA) showed severe stenosis of the left iliac artery. The thrombus in the iliac artery was removed by cardiovascular surgeous. The following day, a mobile thrombus in the aortic arch was observed on cine-MRI. After treatment with both anti-platelet and anti-coagulant agents for 2 months, the thrombus in the aortic arch was no longer visible on cine-MRI.
This patient had developed cerebral and iliac arterial embolisms due to aortic atherosclerotic disease, with a mobile thrombus in the aortic arch. Cine-MRI may be useful for detecting mobile thrombi in the aortic arch.
