title: Stroke in a Young Swimmer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Arterial dissections are important causes of stroke in the young population. Dissection has been reported in association with some sports. It seems that this report is among the first ones of the cervical arterial dissection in a young swimmer.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 30-year-old male professional swimmer with no history of any major disease suddenly complained of severe ataxia, moderate headache, neck pain, unilateral left facial weakness, and feelings of tingling and paresthesia on the left side of his body and face a few minutes following head and body stretching exercises in land. There was no history of major head or neck trauma, manipulation, and practicing diving skills in the past. Acute infarction of the left cerebellum was diagnosed after performing brain computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (with contrast) studies. Cervical magnetic resonance angiography confirmed left vertebral artery dissection as the cause of infarction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Important differential diagnoses of cervicocephalic arterial dissection include other vascular or neurological causes of head and neck pain and/or local neurological syndromes and other causes of brain ischemia such as cardiac emboli, atherosclerosis, and vasculopathy of brain vessels. It is important that sports medicine practitioners pay attention to this less-diagnosed cause of stroke in young athletes.
authors.affiliation: Sports and Exercise Medicine Department, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Shahram
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohaghegh
authors.affiliation: Sports Medicine Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hajian
keywords: Arterial Occlusive Diseases; Stroke; Swimming