Eight years prior to his demise, this 48-year-old black male had a dissecting aortic aneurysm. The first portion of the aortic arch was dilated with an and he had associated aortic valve insufficiency. The defect was repaired and a mechanical prosthetic aortic valve was implanted. One year prior to his terminal admission, the patient experienced a catastrophic cerebrovascular accident (CVA) with left hemiparesis and obtundation. The patient experienced severe neurologic sequelae from this CVA and was eventually transferred to a nursing home where he was bedbound and required an indwelling urinary catheter. The Four months later the patient developed a urinary tract infection and was transferred to the hospital. The patient's condition deteriorated and he died 6 weeks after admission with a urinary tract infection and pneumoniaand he died of sepsis. Autopsy showed the expected findings in the aorta and in a 760-gram heart. The mechanical valve showed some old thrombotic material adherent to the valve which was probably the source of the emboli which caused the patient's CVA. The patient's 1250-gram brain showed extensive old infarctions in at least three different areas, with the largest (12.5 x 5.5 cm) in the distribution of the right middle cerebral artery.