Embolic cerebral ischemia in carotid surgery: a model for human embolic stroke?

Background: If carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is a clinical model of embolic stroke, then it should be possible to determine the relevance of embolus size and of the total quantity of embolic material (embolus load) for ischemic stroke.

Material/methods: Thirty-one patients underwent a total of 33 CEAs. Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) was performed on the day before and after CEA.