Fig. 1

a Axial DWI obtained in a 69-year-old man two days after cardiac surgery shows multiple small (arrow) and not small (*) ischemic strokes in both hemispheres. The patient had bilateral < 50% internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis. Absence of significant ICA stenosis and bilateral distribution suggest an embolic origin of the strokes. b Axial DWI obtained in a 72 year-old woman two days after cardiac surgery shows a small hyperintense area (arrow) in the right posterior cerebral artery territory, consistent with small ischemic stroke. The patient had bilateral < 50% ICA stenosis. c Axial DWI obtained in a 69-year-old man three days after cardiac surgery shows a large, hyperintense area in the left middle cerebral artery territory, consistent with not small ischemic stroke. The patient had bilateral < 50% ICA stenosis