When a chiropractor adjusts a patient’s neck, the carotid, vertebral and basilar arteries are moved by the manipulation. When the arteries are twisted at a high velocity, there’s a risk that the arteries can tear or dissect. The dissection doesn’t tear through the arteries: these are intimal tears, very small ones, on the inside lining of the arteries.
After the tear, blood enters the arterial wall and forms a blood clot, thickening the artery wall and often impeding blood flow. Sometimes it can cause immediate symptoms such as painful headaches. When blood clots break off from the site of the tear, they form emboli (similar to scabs) that can travel through the arteries to the brain and block the blood supply to the brain, resulting in a stroke. There can also be a delay of symptoms by days or even weeks.
If you believe you or someone you love is the victim of a stroke caused by arterial dissection, please call or send an e-mail to schedule your free legal consultation with me, Ken McKenna, at 407.244.3000 or kmckenna@dwklaw.com. I specialize in arterial dissection and stroke cases and have the financial resources, experience, and courage to take these cases to trial.
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