Abstract

Carotid artery trauma is a known cause of stroke in young people. The vessel may occlude, dissect or shower thrombotic emboli into intracranial vessels. This paper reports the use of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging in a 29 year old man who developed an embolic stroke after neck holding manoeuvres at a martial arts class. Awareness of the potential consequences of these procedures is matched by the need for rapid and accurate diagnosis of stroke now that thrombolytic and neuroprotective treatments are emerging, which are effective only within a short time window.