Sumatriptan can alleviate headaches due to carotid artery dissection
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Updated: Oct 5, 2026

Optimized Management of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke
Published on: January 18, 2018
E C Leira1, S Cruz-Flores, R O Leacock
1Souers Stroke Institute, Department of Neurology, St. Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo, USA.
Abstract:
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.
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