ASA: Stroke Risk Not Increased for Patients With Cervical Artery Dissection With DA in First 180 Days

THURSDAY, Jan. 29, 2026 (HealthDay News) — About one in five patients with cervical artery dissection (CeAD) have dissecting aneurysm (DA), but they do not have an increased risk for subsequent ischemic stroke, according to a study scheduled to be presented at the annual American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference, held from Feb. 4 to 6 in New Orleans.

Muhib Khan, M.D., M.B.B.S., from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues examined the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of patients with CeAD and DA in a secondary analysis of the Antithrombotics for Stroke Prevention in Cervical Artery Dissection trial. Participants were stratified by presence of DA. Factors associated with DA were identified using multivariable regression.

The researchers found that 767 (19 percent) of the 4,008 patients included in the analysis had DA. Patients with DA were more often non-Hispanic; more often had a history of migraine, connective tissue disorder, and minor neck trauma; and were more likely to present with ischemic stroke in combined adjusted analyses (adjusted odds ratios, 0.63, 1.27, 2.02, 1.70, and 1.73, respectively). Ten percent of the patients with DA on presentation had DA growth. No significant difference was seen in the risk for ischemic stroke by day 180 for patients with DA or with DA growth.

“Reassuringly, dissecting aneurysm formation was not related to hemorrhagic stroke or increased mortality either,” coauthor Zafer Keser, M.D., also from the Mayo Clinic, said in a statement. “Our study provides important information to help health care professionals better monitor and manage patients during the first six months after diagnosis of an aneurysm.”

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