Introduction: Hematological disorders per se represent unusual causes of cerebral ischemia, explaining in young people 4% of strokes. Hematological disorders that induce a thrombotic tendency contribute to overall ischemic stroke risk and may directly cause cerebral ischemia in patients without other risk factors. The frequency of cerebral infarctions caused by prothrombotic states is not known.
Development: This review will focus on disorders such as prothrombotic coagulopaties, including resistance to activated protein C and antiphospholipid syndrome as cause of cerebral infarction. Cerebral venous thrombosis and cerebral infarction from arterial origin are the most common form of neurological involvement. Pathophysiological mechanism of stroke in these patients are multiple and can include as in antiphospholipid syndrome embolism from valves abnormalities related to hematological disturbance, as well as thrombosis of extracranial or intracranial vessels.
Conclusions: Is clear, however, that prothrombotic states could explains a high percentage of cases of those so called cryptogenic cerebral infarction in young people.