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    Stroke - secondary to cardiogenic embolism
   

A blood clot, or embolus, can form and break-off from the heart. The clot travels through the bloodstream where it can lodge in an artery of the brain, blocking the flow of oxygen-rich blood. The lack of oxygen results in damage, destruction, or even tissue death of the brain beyond the affected area. The result is a stroke.

Review Date: 7/29/2009
Reviewed By: Reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc., and David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Previously reviewed by Daniel B. Hoch, PhD, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital.
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