Cerebral density and perfusion measured among heart disease patients with and without stroke.

This investigation was designed to clarify the chronic effects of cardiogenic emboli on cerebral perfusion and tissue densities within remaining noninfarcted brain. Local cerebral perfusion and tissue densities were measured by xenon-contrasted CT scanning and compared by cross-sectional designs among normal volunteers without heart disease (Group C, n = 44), normal volunteers with heart disease (Group N, n = 20), patients with heart disease and lacunar infarctions (Group L, n = 31) and patients with heart disease associated with cardiogenic cerebral embolism (Group E, n = 12). In Group E, remaining cortical and subcortical gray and white matter perfusion were reduced compared to Groups C and N (p = 0.01), but did not differ from Group L, who had similar profiles of risk factor for stroke. In Group E, perfusion was reduced within the thalamus ipsilateral to cortical infarctions (p < 0.05). There were no differences in remaining tissue densities between Groups E and L. It is concluded that reduced cerebral perfusion in noninfarcted regions among patients with cardiogenic emboli appears to be related to atherosclerosis of small cerebral vessels in a similar manner to patients with lacunes, but thalamo-cortical disconnections also contribute to cerebral hypoperfusion.