On 1/7, representatives from Bai Chay Hospital announced that the symptoms lasted for about one hour after the patient played soccer and finished showering. The patient had no prior medical history or cardiovascular risk factors.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed acute cerebral infarction. A carotid ultrasound showed atherosclerotic plaque in the left internal carotid artery, causing 70% stenosis of the artery.

Doctors identified this as a prolonged, complex injury that severely reduced blood flow to the brain and posed a risk of clot formation leading to cerebral infarction.

Because the length of the lesion exceeded the coverage of a single stent, the intervention team used two consecutive stents to completely reconstruct the vessel lumen and restore blood flow to the brain.

Following the intervention, the left carotid artery was fully re-opened, blood flow to the brain recovered, and the patient's health stabilized after three days.

Image of the severely narrowed left carotid artery. *Photo: Hospital provided*

The carotid artery is a major blood vessel that supplies about 70% of the blood to the front part of the brain. When this artery is damaged, the risk of extensive cerebral infarction, disability, or death is very high. Notably, carotid artery dissection often does not manifest immediately after an injury. Patients can remain fully conscious for many hours, even several days, before stroke symptoms appear.

Carotid artery dissection is a condition where the inner lining (intima) of the artery wall tears, allowing blood to flow between the layers of the vessel wall, forming a hematoma within the artery. This process causes stenosis or occlusion of the vessel and can form blood clots that may travel to the brain, leading to ischemic stroke.

This condition can occur after blunt neck trauma from: traffic accidents, high-intensity sports, or even after excessive neck rotation, extension, or flexion. In young people, 20% of traumatic cerebrovascular injuries result in aortic artery dissection.

Doctor Giap Hung Manh, Head of the Neurology, Physical Therapy, and Rehabilitation Department, stated that this is a rare case of ischemic stroke in a young person. The cause did not stem from common cardiovascular risk factors but from carotid artery dissection following a neck injury during sports.

Doctors advise people to be particularly vigilant for unusual symptoms such as: persistent headache or neck pain after injury, dizziness, loss of balance, numbness or weakness in limbs, facial drooping, difficulty speaking, blurred vision, double vision, convulsions, or altered consciousness. If any of these signs appear, it is crucial to promptly visit a medical facility with a stroke and interventional vascular specialty for examination, diagnosis, and timely treatment.

Thuy Quynh