[Two-dimensional echocardiography in 100 cases of unexplained cerebral ischemic complications]

One-hundred patients with unexplained cerebral ischaemic events were explored by two-dimensional echocardiography. Thirty-nine patients showed abnormalities considered causative of embolic stroke. The most frequent cardiopathy found was mitral valve prolapse (38.5 per cent). This study suggests that unexplained cerebral ischaemic events should be evaluated by two-dimensional echocardiography and that the most frequent source of emboli to be expected is mitral valve prolapse.