title: Headache in carotid artery stenting and angiography.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Carotid angioplasty headache and diagnostic criteria are based on scarce data and small series. Here, we aimed to determine presence, frequency, and characteristics of headache after carotid artery stenting and angiography headache and speculate on possible mechanisms of head and neck pain emerging during or after the carotid artery stenting procedure.
  
  
  METHODS
  The total of 64 patients who were admitted to our Neuroradiology Division of Radiology Department for primary percutaneous transluminal carotid interna stenting were included in the study. They had symptomatic or asymptomatic carotid artery disease with stenosis more than 70%. All patients were questioned by a neurologist regarding the presence, side, location, quality, severity, duration, and timing of headache after both angiography and stenting procedures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Frequency of headache after carotid interna stenting was 39.1%, it commonly arose in a short period after the procedure and relieved in 10 minutes. This type of headache was mild, ipsilateral, frontotemporal in location, pressing in nature, and arose frequently within 10 minutes after the procedure, whereas angiography headache had a frequency of 21.9% and it was ipsilateral, mild, burning-like headache. Angiography headache also relieved within 10 minutes. Both types of headache were related to severe stenosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study clearly demonstrates that headache is seen after carotid artery stenting (39.1%) and angiography (21.9%). Although both types of headache have similar characteristics, they differ in that it is mostly pressing in the group of carotid artery stenting and burning in angiography group.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, I.U. Cerrahpasa Medical School, Istanbul, Turkey. draysegulgunduz@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Ayşegül
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gündüz
authors.forename: Baki
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Göksan
authors.forename: Naci
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Koçer
authors.forename: Feray
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Karaali-Savrun
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017130:Angioplasty / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002533:Cerebral Angiography / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015607:Stents