reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS)

see also:

• headache

• a group of conditions characterised by a thunderclap headache and reversible vasoconstriction of the cerebral arteries
• the headaches are usually fairly short in duration (a few hours) and usually, headaches will periodically recur over days or weeks, and may be associated with photophobia, nausea and vomiting

• mainly women aged 20-50yrs age but can affect men or adolescents

• pregnancy
• puerperium
• many medications especially sympathomimetics, and substances (incl. cocaine, THC)
• migraine
• various other conditions

• various criteria have been suggested
• acute severe headache (usually thunderclap) +/- focial neurologic deficits or seizures with normal neuroimaging or watershed infarct or vasogenic ischaemia, or,
• recurrent thunderclap headaches with normal neuroimaging, or,
• no thunderclap headache, but abnormal angiographic findings with a normal neuroimaging study
• CSF studies are normal or near normal

• see https://radiopaedia.org/articles/reversible-cerebral-vasoconstriction-syndrome-2