Inclusion criteria |
Ischemic stroke (acute DWIa lesion and corresponding acute neurological deficit of >24 h duration) in the territory of the anterior or middle cerebral artery <15 days |
before both MDCTAb and black-blood carotid CMRc |
Stenosing (i.e. luminal obstruction > 50% according to NASCETd criteria) atherosclerotic plaque in the internal carotid artery of the symptomatic side as determined by duplex sonography |
Exclusion criteria |
Stroke etiology other than large vessel disease |
Bilateral infarcts on cerebral |
Known contraindications against CMR or MDCTA |
Allergy to contrast material |
Impaired renal function (glomerular filtration rate < 30 ml/min) |
Previous radiation therapy to head or neck |
Surgical procedure within 24 h before bb-CMR |
Previous interventional or surgical manipulation of the symptomatic carotid artery (e.g. stenting, endarterectomy) |
Insufficient image quality in bb-CMR or MDCTA |