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;dissecting aortic aneurysm
:A dissecting aortic aneurysm occurs when an intimal tear allows blood--under very high pressure--to enter the media and thus to separate the intima from the adventitia. The separation occurs longitudinally and amounts to the formation of a blood-filled canal parallel to the aortic lumen which may run the entire length of the aorta. The word "aneurysm" usually refers to an abnormal dilatation of a localized segment of artery. Since marked dilatation of the aorta is not a prominent feature of a dissecting lesion, "aortic dissection" is now the preferred term.
;mechanical prosthetic valve
:Prosthetic heart valves are a common source of emboli (blood clots) which may lodge in arteries of the brain and lead to infarction.
;cerebrovascular accident
:A cerebrovascular accident (CVA) is known as a "stroke" in layman's terms. The most common cause of CVAs, by far, is a brain infarction resulting from reduced blood flow secondary to a thrombotic embolus (blood clot).
