Premium
Sumatriptan Can Alleviate Headaches Due to Carotid Artery Dissection
Author(s) -
Leira Enrique C.,
CruzFlores Salvador,
Leacock Rodney O.,
Abdulrauf Saleem I.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
headache: the journal of head and face pain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.14
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1526-4610
pISSN - 0017-8748
DOI - 10.1046/j.1526-4610.2001.041006590.x
Subject(s) - sumatriptan , medicine , carotid artery dissection , headaches , cluster headache , dissection (medical) , migraine , magnetic resonance angiography , anesthesia , carotid arteries , magnetic resonance imaging , cardiology , surgery , radiology , receptor , agonist
Cluster headaches can be mimicked by a spontaneous carotid artery dissection. We report a 45‐year‐old man with a spontaneous carotid artery dissection whose unilateral headache responded to sumatriptan. An oral dose of 50 mg of sumatriptan relieved 90% of the pain after 2 hours. A second dose the next day achieved similar results within 4 hours. The diagnosis of dissection was made later by magnetic resonance angiogram and conventional angiography. This case illustrates that a positive response to a triptan can not be used to distinguish the first attack of cluster headache from a carotid artery dissection.