The 10-second stroke: a case report.

BACKGROUND

Acute infarction is detected in a third of patients undergoing diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) with clinically suspected transient ischemic attack. The longer symptoms are present, the more likely an infarct will be identified on DW-MRI. Events as short as 10 minutes have been reported in association with a DW-MRI lesion.

METHODS

We present a case of an otherwise healthy man with a 10-second episode of neurologic dysfunction associated with DW-MRI lesions from a cardioembolic source.

RESULTS

The atypical symptoms and lack of risk factors for cerebrovascular disease made his diagnosis easy to miss.

CONCLUSIONS

Early DW-MRI may be of benefit beyond clinical judgment in patients with fleeting symptoms of neurologic dysfunction.