Cervical Artery Dissections Surge Nearly Fivefold in U.S. Over 15 Years: Study Finds
A new study has found almost a five-fold increase in the number of U.S. hospitalizations for cervical artery dissection over a 15-year period. The study was published online in the journal Neurology®.
A dissection in the artery wall is most often caused by trauma due to motor vehicle accidents but can also occur with smaller injuries. Heavy lifting has also been shown to cause dissection in some people.
For the study, researchers reviewed 15 years of U.S. health data to identify 125,102 people hospitalized for cervical artery dissection. Participants had an average age of 51, and just over half had a stroke at the same time as dissection. Of all participants, 65% were white, 10% were Black, 8% were Hispanic, 3% were Asian or Pacific Islander, and 14% were of other racial groups.
Researchers compared the number of hospitalizations to U.S. Census data to determine the annual rate of cervical artery dissections. They then calculated the average annual percentage change in those rates.
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