Abstract
Cardioembolic stroke is the second cause of ischemic stroke, with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. Echocardiography, mainly transesophageal echocardiography, is very useful for the diagnosis and risk stratification of the various potential cardiac causes of embolism. These can be stratified in major cardiac sources, with a high known potential embolic risk and specific treatments, and minor sources, statistically associated with stroke. Nevertheless, in the latter causal implication is not well established.