Infected symptomatic carotid artery atheroma concurrent with bacterial endocarditis

Optimal management of patients with stroke due to symptomatic carotid artery disease coexistent with bacterial endocarditis is still not well established. We report the case of a patient who presented with multifocal left middle cerebral artery stroke in the setting of Enterococcus faecalis endocarditis and was found to have near-occlusive ipsilateral carotid artery stenosis in stroke workup. Carotid artery endarterectomy was performed, and atheroma material demonstrated complicated plaque with cultures positive for E. faecalis. This report demonstrates that patients with cardioembolic disorders such as bacterial endocarditis with vegetations who present with stroke may benefit from evaluation for extracranial vessel stenosis. Also, additional consideration should be given to the possibility of infected atheroma in patients with symptomatic carotid stenosis with recent or active endocarditis or bacteraemia.