Background: It is important to know whether or not the stroke risk factors and etiologies of patients with multiple acute infarcts are different to those of patients with a single acute infarct.

Aim: The frequency of multiple acute infarct was investigated in ischemic stroke patients and a comparison was made of the characteristics of stroke patients with and without multiple acute infarct.

Patients and methods: We reviewed the clinical records of 988 ischemic stroke patients who were admitted within 1 week of the onset of stroke and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) was performed on first presentation. The clinical characteristics, laboratory, and imaging results were noted from the patient records. According to the DWI findings, the patients were separated into three groups as those with a single acute infarct in a single vascular territory (SI group), those with multiple acute infarcts in a single vascular territory (SMI group) and those with multiple acute infarcts in multiple vascular (MMI group) territories. The frequency of multiple acute infarcts was investigated, and a comparison was made of the characteristics of stroke patients with and without multiple acute infarcts.

Results: The SMI group included 119 (12%) patients and the MMI group 126 (12.8%). The most common mechanisms of multiple acute infarcts are large artery atherosclerosis and cardiac origin emboli. Moreover, the risk factors most determined were hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia in the MMI group.

Conclusion: No difference was determined between the groups in respect of stroke etiology and risk factors.

Keywords: Acute ischemic stroke; diffusion-weighted imaging; multiple vascular territory; single vascular territory.