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Emergency: requires immediate attention
Carotid artery dissection
Other Resources UpToDate PubMed
Emergency: requires immediate attention

Carotid artery dissection

Contributors: Ryan Hoefen MD, PhD
Other Resources UpToDate PubMed

Synopsis

Carotid artery dissection is tearing of the carotid artery wall between the intimal and medial layers, resulting in an abnormal collection of blood or intramural hematoma. May compromise the arterial blood flow, causing ischemic stroke. Painful condition. Characteristic findings include headache and/or neck pain on the side of the dissection, periorbital headache / pain, miosis, ptosis, amaurosis fugax, tinnitus, facial numbness, dysgeusia, tongue paresis, and syncope. Caused by a weakness in the arterial wall. Sometimes the result of blunt trauma to the neck or head as a result of a sports injury, strenuous exercise, whiplash, childbirth, or sexual intercourse. Certain conditions may compromise the strength of the arterial wall, including Marfan syndrome, fibromuscular dysplasia, atherosclerosis, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type 4, and homocystinuria.

Initial treatment is typically anti-coagulation therapy.

Codes

ICD10CM:
I77.71 – Dissection of carotid artery

SNOMEDCT:
705066004 – Internal carotid artery dissection

Differential Diagnosis & Pitfalls

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Last Updated:04/22/2024
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Emergency: requires immediate attention
Carotid artery dissection
A medical illustration showing key findings of Carotid artery dissection : Severe headache, Neck pain, Tinnitus
Imaging Studies image of Carotid artery dissection - imageId=7872495. Click to open in gallery.  caption: '<span>Common carotid artery dissection.   Grayscale ultrasound image demonstrates a luminal flap within the common  carotid artery. Dissection was confirmed by CT angiogram (not shown).</span>'
Common carotid artery dissection. Grayscale ultrasound image demonstrates a luminal flap within the common carotid artery. Dissection was confirmed by CT angiogram (not shown).
Copyright © 2024 VisualDx®. All rights reserved.