Massive Pulmonary Thromboembolism and Stroke

A 38-year-old HIV-positive female, recently started on antiretroviral therapy, presented in extremis. She had features suggestive of an HIV-associated cardiomyopathy complicated by the following problems: a four-day-old stroke, extensive deep venous thrombosis, and massive pulmonary embolism. She received intravenous streptokinase with rapid improvement, both haemodynamically and, unexpectedly, neurologically. Our case illustrates that a positive outcome is potentially possible where the two conditions coincide.