[Echocardiography in patients with acute cerebrovascular syndromes. Rational use and clinical impact].

About 30% of acute cerebrovascular attacks have a cardioembolic etiology. It is well known that intracardiac thrombi or tumors are related to acute cerebrovascular attacks. However, the role of other cardiac lesions is not so clear. Echocardiography, in particular with transesophageal echocardiography, has the potentiality to correctly identify the cardiac source. In the clinical scenario, the diagnosis is important but the clinical impact in terms of therapy should also be considered. The aim of this paper was to review the potential role of echocardiography in patients with an acute cerebrovascular attack and to propose an evaluation flow-chart of these patients.