Cerebral angiography in acute cerebral infarction.

Cerebral angiography in the acute phase of clinically diagnosed stroke syndromes was evaluated in a prospective study of 104 consecutive patients over an eight month period at the Massachusetts General Hospital to determine the diagnostic yield. Of 68 patients subsequently documented to have retinal or cerebral hemispheric infarction, 63 (92.6%) had angiographic demonstration of occlusive lesions which appeared to correlate with the clinical deficit. These results are discordant with prior angiographic reports, 2,17,18,20 suggesting that delayed carotid artery angiography fails to show occlusive lesions (embolic) which may be shown acutely.