Stroke and Respiratory Failure: Mind the Shunt!

There are other causes to explain simultaneous presentation of stroke and respiratory failure, which should be kept in mind.The association between arterial and venous thrombosis; be aware of paradoxical embolism and search for intracardiac or intrapulmonary shunts.Platypnoea-orthodeoxia syndrome is characterized by dyspnoea and hypoxaemia induced by orthostatic position and relieved by recumbency; it is a red flag to think of an intracardiac or intrapulmonary shunt.