Aortic arch atheroma as a source of arterio-arterial embolism and ischemic stroke

Introduction. Currently, despite the introduction of modern diagnostic algorithms in 20-40 % of patients with ischemic stroke, it is not possible to establish its cause. Potential causes of acute cerebral ischemia in patients with cryptogenic ischemic stroke include paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, patent foramen ovale, atrial cardiomyopathy, carotid network, aortic arch atheroma, and cancer-associated thrombophilia.Target: to systematize data on methods for diagnosing and preventing aortic arch atheroma.Material and methods. The literature search was carried out in electronic search systems Scopus, eLibrary, PubMed using the key words: ischemic stroke, cryptogenic stroke, aortic arch atheroma, pathogenesis of ischemic stroke.Results. At present, despite such a detailed study of therapeutic strategies for the prevention of recurrent thrombotic events in patients with aortic arch atheroma, none of the drugs has proven its advantage. Although the NAVIGATE ESUS and RESPECT ESUS trials did not show the superiority of oral anticoagulants over antiplatelet agents in preventing recurrent ischemic strokes in patients with cryptogenic stroke, it was found that cryptogenic ischemic stroke is heterogeneous, which requires a differentiated approach to secondary prevention.Conclusion. Aortic atheroma can be the cause of embolic syndrome and cryptogenic stroke. The main methods for diagnosing aortic atheroma are transesophageal echocardiography and computed tomographic angiography. The therapeutic strategy for the treatment of aortic atheroma is lipid-lowering, antithrombotic therapy in combination with blockers of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.