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

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...

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Main Authors: Jonathan T Jaffe, Thompson Kehrl
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: eScholarship Publishing, University of California 2017-01-01
Series:Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine
Online Access:https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7354b8k4
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author Jonathan T Jaffe
Thompson Kehrl
author_facet Jonathan T Jaffe
Thompson Kehrl
author_sort Jonathan T Jaffe
collection DOAJ
description 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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spelling doaj.art-e4fd9fbe6ef0484db40ca928d18a8b8e2022-12-22T00:44:39ZengeScholarship Publishing, University of CaliforniaClinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine2474-252X2017-01-011110.5811/cpcem.2016.11.31980cpcem-01-25Spontaneous Bilateral Internal Carotid Artery Dissections in a Young Female with HeadacheJonathan T JaffeThompson KehrlSpontaneous 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.https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7354b8k4
spellingShingle Jonathan T Jaffe
Thompson Kehrl
Spontaneous Bilateral Internal Carotid Artery Dissections in a Young Female with Headache
Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine
title Spontaneous Bilateral Internal Carotid Artery Dissections in a Young Female with Headache
title_full Spontaneous Bilateral Internal Carotid Artery Dissections in a Young Female with Headache
title_fullStr Spontaneous Bilateral Internal Carotid Artery Dissections in a Young Female with Headache
title_full_unstemmed Spontaneous Bilateral Internal Carotid Artery Dissections in a Young Female with Headache
title_short Spontaneous Bilateral Internal Carotid Artery Dissections in a Young Female with Headache
title_sort spontaneous bilateral internal carotid artery dissections in a young female with headache
url https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7354b8k4
work_keys_str_mv AT jonathantjaffe spontaneousbilateralinternalcarotidarterydissectionsinayoungfemalewithheadache
AT thompsonkehrl spontaneousbilateralinternalcarotidarterydissectionsinayoungfemalewithheadache