What is Cervicocephalic arterial dissection?

What is Cervicocephalic arterial dissection?

Background: Cervicocephalic arterial dissection (CCA) is common in ischemic strokes in young adult. It is a cause of cerebral or retinal ischemic events, especially when these clinical manifestations are preceded by or associated with focal symptoms.

Can vertebral artery dissection heal itself?

Most dissections of the vertebral arteries heal spontaneously and especially, extracranial VADs generally carry a good prognosis.

Which arteries are most commonly affected by dissections?

The cervical (extracranial) internal carotid artery is affected in 75% of patients (usually approximately 2 cm distal to the bifurcation) and the extracranial vertebral artery in 15% of patients.

Can you exercise with a vertebral artery dissection?

Your doctor may recommend that you modify some of your activities, such as your exercise program, to avoid activities that may increase the risk of future events (such as heavy lifting). Patients who have had a cervical artery dissection may need to be checked for vascular disease in other parts of the body.

Can you feel a vertebral artery dissection?

Vertebral artery dissection (VAD) usually presents with posterior headache or neck pain followed within hours or days by posterior circulation stroke. Rarely, the dissection may present with signs or symptoms referable only to the cervical spinal cord.

How do you fix a vertebral artery dissection?

Vertebral artery dissection (VAD) is a flap-like tear of the inner lining of the vertebral artery, which is located in the neck and supplies blood to the brain….

Vertebral artery dissection
Treatment Anticoagulation, angioplasty, surgery
Medication Aspirin, heparin, warfarin
Frequency 1.1 per 100,000

How long does it take for a dissected artery to heal?

Healing usually takes 3-6 months, and the incidence of contralateral dissection is higher in these patients than in the general population. When the condition is diagnosed early, the prognosis is usually good.

How do you fix an artery dissection?

Treatment. Treatment is usually with blood thinners such as warfarin or low molecular weight heparin for 3 to 6 months followed by aspirin therapy.

What can cause artery dissections?

What causes an arterial dissection? Arterial dissection can occur as a result of head or neck trauma (either serious or minor), but sometimes it has no identifiable cause.

What is an arterial dissection?

The blood cuts (or dissects) through the wall and that is where the term “arterial dissection” comes from: The most feared consequence of a dissection is that the false lumen might not hold and that a tear will form in the arterial wall. This tear can cause severe hemorrhage and organ damage or death, depending on the dissection location.

What is an aortic dissection?

An aortic dissection is a rare, serious condition in which the inner layer of the aorta (the biggest blood vessel in the body, coming directly from the heart) tears. Blood then surges through the tear, causing the inner and middle layers of the aorta to separate (dissect). Aortic dissection is a medical emergency and needs urgent treatment.

Can arterial dissection cause droopy eye lid?

Arterial dissection can cause a droopy eye lid with a small pupil on the same side, headache, neck pain, or stroke symptoms.

What follow-up is needed for acute aortic dissection?

Optimal follow-up typically consists of baseline CT scan or MRI within the first 3 months of the acute dissection and repeat imaging of the aorta at least every 6 months for the first 2 years. Over the long term, continued imaging of the aorta at least yearly is usually recommended.

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