Carotid artery dissection presenting as exercise-induced monocular visual loss

A man in his 60s presented to the urgent treatment centre with isolated transient monocular visual loss in the right eye soon after completing a 5 km run. He had no preceding events, no history of neck pain and no other associated symptoms. His only medical history was presumed giant cell arteritis 3 months prior. The ophthalmology team reviewed the patient urgently and retinal artery occlusion was excluded. Carotid Doppler imaging showed a total occlusion of the right internal carotid artery. CT angiogram of the head and neck vessels revealed a dissection flap immediately proximal to the occlusion. The carotid dissection was treated with aspirin 300 mg for 2 weeks followed by clopidogrel 75 mg for a minimum of 3 months. The patient was discussed with the vascular team who confirmed that no surgical intervention would be required to treat the occlusion. With the relatively simple treatment of antiplatelet therapy, the patient is making good progress with no recurrence of symptoms.