Stroke in a healthy 46-year-old man.

Abstract

This article presents the case of a healthy 46-year-old man who experienced a dissection of the internal carotid artery. The diagnosis of this condition is not usually clear-cut, especially in a young patient with unremarkable medical history, and because of the similarity of symptoms with migraine. Often there is no obvious cause of a cerebral artery dissection, although subtle abnormalities of connective tissue may be present. Anticoagulation is generally used for therapy, but clinical trials are lacking. Carotid artery dissection should be considered as a cause of stroke in young healthy adults.