Stroke and carotid artery dissection

At the hospital after my stroke, I was questioned repeatedly by various doctors, residents, medical students. Their goal was to figure out why I had a stroke. An MRI showed I had experienced acute ischemic stroke on the left side of my brain, though luckily I had no visible lasting effects from it. I had just turned 40, was very fit (I had gone for a long run right before I had the stroke), and had no health issues. Despite all this questioning — even by a neurologist — no one figured out what was actually wrong with me and I went home from the hospital with a diagnosis of "migraine brain." This same scenario has happened to many people with carotid artery dissections. It is a difficult diagnosis to make.

In the hospital, I noticed that on every wall in every room I was wheeled into, a bright neon "stroke protocol" sheet advised medical personnel to check for various symptoms of stroke and take appropriate action. Yet carotid artery dissection is a common cause of ischemic stroke in people under 50 years old; in fact it causes up to 25% of ischemic stroke in that age group. And the condition most often strikes people in their 30s and 40s. For more about the condition, see:http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/757906-overview

About a month after my diagnosis, I went to see a lecture by a leading stroke doctor. I asked her after the lecture why the "stroke protocol" sheet doesn't include a simple tip such as "check for carotid artery dissection in stroke patients under 50". She said her colleagues are working on building visibility for the condition within the medical community. 

Pressure from people like me can help make this happen, so I will be doing some lobbying around this issue.