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CASE REPORT article

Front. Cardiovasc. Med.

Sec. General Cardiovascular Medicine

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2025.1598757

Thunderclap headache as an initial manifestation of acute aortic dissection: A case report and review of literature

Provisionally accepted
Mario  RanjeevanMario Ranjeevan1,2Valeriia  NielsenValeriia Nielsen1,2Egon  StenagerEgon Stenager3Sepehr  MamoeiSepehr Mamoei1,2,3*
  • 1Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Southern Jutland, Aabenraa, Denmark
  • 2Neurological Research Unit, University Hospital of Southern Jutland, Aabenraa, Denmark
  • 3Department of Regional Health Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

The authors describe the case of a 54-year-old man with sudden onset severe headache accompanied by transitory sensory-motor deficits in all extremities, and mild abdominal pain as the initial manifestation of acute aortic dissection. Despite clinical symptoms mimicking subarachnoid hemorrhage and transitory cerebral ischemia, CT-angiography of the cerebrum and thorax revealed a Stanford type A aortic dissection. Consequently, the patient underwent insertion of a prosthesis at the aortic root and arch. In this case report, we suggest a high level of suspicion for aortic dissection in patients presenting with a sudden severe headache and/or neurological deficits accompanied by chest/back/abdominal pain, nausea, and loss of consciousness. At the same time, asymmetry of pulse and blood pressure asymmetry of the arms should also raise suspicion. An acute CT angiography with the aim of timely diagnosis will allow earlier treatment for this life-threatening condition.

Keywords: Headache, aortic dissection, computed tomography, Neurologic deficits, Emergency Medicine, differential diagnosis

Received: 24 Mar 2025; Accepted: 06 Oct 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Ranjeevan, Nielsen, Stenager and Mamoei. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Sepehr Mamoei, smamoei@health.sdu.dk

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