Strokes due to cardiogenic embolism are caused by emboli (blood clots that break off and enter the bloodstream) that develop in the heart. The embolus travels through the blood and becomes lodged in a small artery in the brain.

Review Date: 12/23/2010
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).

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