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Case Reports
. 2017 Jan 24;1(1):25-27.
doi: 10.5811/cpcem.2016.11.31980. eCollection 2017 Mar.

Spontaneous Bilateral Internal Carotid Artery Dissections in a Young Female with Headache

Jonathan T Jaffe  1 , Thompson Kehrl  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Spontaneous Bilateral Internal Carotid Artery Dissections in a Young Female with Headache

Jonathan T Jaffe et al. Clin Pract Cases Emerg Med. .

Abstract

Spontaneous cervical artery dissection (sCAD) occurs when the intimal lining separates from the outer wall of the artery. Although rare, it is a common cause of stroke in young people. Presentations range from isolated headache to severe stroke symptoms. A 41-year-old woman with minimal past medical history presented with left-sided headache and transient right leg weakness and numbness. The patient underwent computed tomography (CT) angiography of the neck that showed bilateral internal carotid artery dissections with a relative stenosis from pseudoaneurysm formation on the left. She was placed on a heparin drip and transitioned to warfarin but subsequently required stent placement 10 days later. If this patient had not undergone CT angiography at the time of presentation, she might have suffered significant morbidity and possible mortality.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: By the CPC-EM article submission agreement, all authors are required to disclose all affiliations, funding sources and financial or management relationships that could be perceived as potential sources of bias. The authors disclosed none.

Figures

Image
Image
A. Axial CT angiography. Arrows mark intimal flaps in right and left internal carotid arteries. B. 3D reconstruction of CT angiography of the brain with luminal narrowing of bilateral internal carotid arteries marked by arrows. CT, computed tomography
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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