ABSTRACT
The dissection of the internal carotid artery, although rare, is in five to twenty-five percent a causative agent of acute ischemic stroke in patients up to the age of 45. The aim of this paper is to present the case of ischemic stroke within the right hemisphere with left-sided uncomplicated dissection of the internal carotid artery in the case of a young woman. A 35-year-old patient was admitted to the Department of Neurology on an emergency basis due to the sudden motor dysphasia and paresis of the right upper limb. During the anamnesis, the woman reported a head injury suffered two days earlier as a result of fainting. Diagnostic procedures toward ischemic stroke indicated a presence of hypodense area within the left hemisphere of the brain. Subsequent studies – MRI, CT angiography confirmed the existence of an ischemic lesion in the area of the left middle cerebral artery as a consequence of obstruction of the left internal carotid artery. In addition, a dissection of the right internal carotid artery was revealed. Further differential diagnosis, including systemic diseases, did not reveal the reasons for the coexistence of ischemic stroke and vessel dissection on the opposite side. Carotid dissection is a rare but dangerous condition. It either develops spontaneously or after an injury to the head or neck. Any kind of injury of the carotid artery can cause dissection and should lead to include this condition in the differential diagnosis- the more so since even small dissection of the internal carotid artery can be manifested with a delay.
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