Cardiogenic stroke.

Cardiogenic embolism is responsible for about 60,000 strokes each year in the United States. A number of cardiac conditions are known to increase the risk of stroke, including nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and ischemic heart disease. The difficulty lies in determining whether the potential cardioembolic source alone is the mechanism for the stroke. The lack of sensitive and specific clinical diagnostic criteria for cardiogenic stroke has important implications for both primary and secondary stroke prevention.