Introduction
Aspiration thrombectomy is one of the standard treatments during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute myocardial infarction with high thrombus burden. However, it is not recommended routinely as it failed to lower mortality and has a risk of stroke. The primary mechanism of stroke is the technique driven embolization of the thrombus to the brain.
We experienced a case of embolic stroke complicating coronary thrombus aspiration due to an extremely rare mechanism. Coronary thrombus that migrated proximally by aspiration thrombectomy flowed back under the pressure of the contrast agent and was released into the systemic circulation.
The aim of this report is to present a new mechanism of the thrombectomy-associated stroke as an unavoidable complication.