What are some less common causes of ischemic stroke?
Dissection of the cervical vessels needs to be considered, especially if there is neck/face pain or a history of trauma.
Horner’s syndrome may be seen with carotid injury. Illicit drug use (cocaine, stimulant-induced spasm) can be a cause of ischemic stroke.
Rarer causes of stroke include
hypercoagulable states (e.g., active cancer, genetic clotting disorder, or autoimmune conditions such as lupus/antiphospholipid antibody syndrome) and genetic disorders such as cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) and fibromuscular dysplasia. PFO remains controversial as a cause of stroke.
Cases in which no specific cause is identified are called cryptogenic .
