Internal Carotid Artery Occlusion Associated with Cardiac Sarcoidosis during the Postpartum Period Treated with Thrombectomy: A Case Report

Abstract

A 24-year-old woman, who was diagnosed with cardiac sarcoidosis as an adolescent, was brought to the emergency room with right hemiparesis and impaired consciousness 21 days after giving birth to her second child by cesarean section. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed high diffusion-weighted signal changes in the left insular cortex and temporal lobe. Magnetic resonance angiography revealed occlusion of the left internal carotid artery. She was treated with alteplase administration and mechanical thrombectomy, resulting in the improvement of neurological symptoms. Subsequent examination revealed a ventricular aneurysm caused by cardiac sarcoidosis, leading to the diagnosis of cardioembolic stroke. It was also assumed that the patient's postpartum period caused increased coagulability, which contributed to the ischemic stroke. It is important to recognize that abnormal cardiac function and morphology due to cardiac sarcoidosis and increased coagulability during the postpartum period may contribute to ischemic stroke.