[Ischemic stroke with vertebrobasilar artery dissection extended to posterior cerebral artery]

Abstract

A 45-year-old woman was admitted with headache following sudden disturbance of consciousness that occurred two hours beforehand. A neurological examination identified disorientation, left homonymous hemianopia, left hemiplegia, and sensory disturbance in the left limbs. Brain MRI DWI showed acute infarcts in the right occipital lobe and bilateral thalami, and MRA poorly depicted right vertebral artery and right posterior cerebral artery. Anticoagulation was started to treat acute ischemic stroke, but her consciousness level deteriorated at 12 hours after onset. MRI revealed a double lumen in the basilar artery, indicating a diagnosis of vertebrobasilar artery dissection. Serial MRA findings showed that images of the basilar artery and posterior cerebral artery changed over time, suggesting vertebral artery dissection extension to the posterior cerebral artery.

Keywords: MRI; arterial dissection; brain infarction.