Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2012 Feb;119(2 Pt 2):489-492.
doi: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e318242d8d4.

Bilateral internal carotid artery dissection in the postpartum period

Francis I Baffour  1 , Kathryn F Kirchoff-Torres, Francine H Einstein, Scarlett Karakash, Todd S Miller
Affiliations
Case Reports

Bilateral internal carotid artery dissection in the postpartum period

Francis I Baffour et al. Obstet Gynecol. 2012 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Bilateral internal carotid artery dissection is a rare event associated with pregnancy, especially in a patient without any predisposing risk factors.

Case: A 34-year-old woman presented with postpartum unilateral weakness, headaches, and blurry vision 14 days after vaginal delivery. Radiologic imaging revealed bilateral cervical internal carotid artery dissections and cerebral infarctions. She was treated with anticoagulation and showed radiographic and clinical improvement.

Conclusion: The pathophysiology of cervical artery dissection appears multifactorial, with evidence suggesting environmental and genetic contributions. Intimal injury related to the Valsalva maneuver during labor as well as hemodynamic and hormonal changes related to pregnancy are presumed causes of peripartum spontaneous carotid artery dissection. Antithrombotic therapy for at least 3 to 6 months after dissection and follow-up neuroimaging are suggested.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Debette S, Markus H. The genetics of cervical artery dissection: a systematic review. Stroke 2009;40:e459–66.
    1. Schievink WI, Wijdicks EF, Kuiper JD. Seasonal pattern of spontaneous cervical artery dissection. J Neurosurg 1998;89:101–3.
    1. Hsieh PF, Lee YC, Chang MH. Unilateral carotid and vertebral artery dissections and contralateral subarachnoid hemorrhage in a postpartum patient. Acta Neurol Taiwan 2008;17:94–8.
    1. Maderia LM, Hoffman MK, Shlossman PA. Internal carotid artery dissection as a cause of headache in the second trimester. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2007;196:e7–8.
    1. Arnold M, Camus-Jacqmin M, Stapf C, Ducros A, Viswanathan A, Berthet K, et al.. Postpartum cervicocephalic artery dissection. Stroke 2008;39:2377–9.

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources