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A vertebral artery dissection had caused a stroke due to a tear in the inner lining of the vertebral artery
A young, healthy American man nearly died after suffering a stroke when an artery ruptured in his neck—caused by a sneeze. According to his doctors, 35-year-old Ian Applegate was sitting in his car with his wife and son when he began sneezing hard.
Suddenly after the third sneeze, Ian, a resident of California, began experiencing a blinding headache along with dizziness. He even had a sensation of pins and needles on his left side, which became increasingly uncomfortable. He was then taken to a hospital in an emergency, where the doctors diagnosed him with a vertebral artery dissection, which had caused a stroke due to a tear in the inner lining of the vertebral artery. Doctors even gave him blood-thinning medication to prevent further blood clots.
Currently, Ian is still in the hospital undergoing rehabilitative therapy to help retrain the muscles on his left side. "It was my first day back at work after being ill with the flu the whole week. After work, I had just started the car and was getting ready to drive. I sneezed three times, then the third time it caused this blinding headache and made everything spin,” he told The Sun.
"The whole left side of my body had gone numb, I knew I was having a stroke. The pain was excruciating. I was very disoriented and throwing up,” he added.
What is vertebral artery dissection?
Vertebral artery dissection is a rare condition that happens with a tear in one or more tissue layers that make up your vertebral artery. According to doctors, it is common among those who are younger than 45 years.
Experts say it can cause an ischemic stroke, which occurs when a clot becomes large enough to block blood flow to your brain. Clots can also break off, travel through your bloodstream, and get trapped in an artery downstream. While it can mostly occur for no reason at all, doctors say some people have a higher risk of vertebral artery dissection if they have certain health conditions:
- Smoking
- Cystic medial necrosis
- Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
- High blood pressure
- Marfan syndrome
- Osteogenesis imperfecta
- Polycystic kidney disease
Signs and symptoms of vertebral artery dissection
In earlier stages, even though you may not notice symptoms, you may experience signs of a stroke with symptoms like:
- Ataxia, which causes trouble with balance and coordination
- Dizziness
- Hearing loss
- Double vision
- Neck pain
- Severe headache
- Slurred speech
- Vertigo
How is vertebral artery dissection treated?
According to doctors, while most dissections heal on their own, it is important to reduce the risk of blood clots. The doctors would prescribe blood-thinning medications as first-line therapy, such as aspirin or aspirin-like medications.
If the dissection reaches your brain or there’s a hemorrhagic stroke, then blood thinners may not be safe. If the standard therapies don’t work, you may need a procedure, which includes:
- Endovascular embolization uses catheters placed in either your wrist or groin to access the dissection and either apply an embolic agent or insert tiny metal coils. The agent or coils seal the abnormal vessel, preventing blood from flowing through it.
- Angioplasty uses catheters placed in either your wrist or groin to access the dissection and repairs the dissected section of the artery with the inflation of a special balloon.
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