Heart sign (medulla)
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Sharma R, Heart sign (medulla). Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 20 Mar 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-184974
rID:
184974
Article created:
Disclosures:
At the time the article was created Rohit Sharma had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Rohit Sharma's current disclosures
Last revised:
Disclosures:
At the time the article was last revised Rohit Sharma had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Rohit Sharma's current disclosures
Revisions:
1 time, by
1 contributor -
see full revision history and disclosures
Systems:
Sections:
Synonyms:
- AirPod sign (medulla)
- AirPods sign (medulla)
- Heart sign (stroke)
- AirPod sign (stroke)
- AirPods sign (stroke)
- Heart sign (ischaemic stroke)
- AirPod sign (ischaemic stroke)
- AirPods sign (ischaemic stroke)
The heart sign, also known as the AirPod sign, is a radiological sign described in bilateral medial medullary ischaemic stroke. Bilateral medial medullary stroke is a very rare location for stroke and can occur due to disease of the basilar artery, vertebral arteries, or anterior spinal artery 1,2.
The heart sign refers to the appearance of the infarct on axial DWI MRI, whereby there is bilateral high diffusion signal in the medulla oblongata that takes the shape of a heart or a pair of Apple AirPod headphones 1-4. A similar appearance has also been described in one case report in the pons in bilateral medial pontomedullary junction ischaemic stroke 5.
References
- 1. Duarte-Celada W, Montalvan V, Bueso T, Davila-Siliezar P. Bilateral Medial Medullary Stroke: “The Heart Sign”. Radiology Case Reports. 2024;19(4):1329-32. doi:10.1016/j.radcr.2024.01.008 - Pubmed
- 2. Raj A, Alapatt PJ, R A, L K S, V V A. Airpod Sign: A Diagnostic Radiological Finding of a Rare Cerebrovascular Accident. Cureus. 2022;14(12):e32129. doi:10.7759/cureus.32129 - Pubmed
- 3. Agarwal S, Raz E, Yaghi S. Bilateral Medial Medullary Infarction: The Airpod Sign. Stroke. 2023;54(4):e157-8. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.122.042054 - Pubmed
- 4. Krishnan P. Heart in the Brain: Classical Imaging Sign in Bilateral Medial Medullary Infarction. Br J Neurosurg. 2020;37(3):305-6. doi:10.1080/02688697.2020.1765978 - Pubmed
- 5. Zhou Z, Wu Y, Wu W et al. Giant “heart Appearance-Like Sign” on MRI in Bilateral Ponto-Medullary Junction Infraction: Case Report. BMC Neurol. 2020;20(1):107. doi:10.1186/s12883-020-01683-7 - Pubmed
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