Hope the best for him. Here is some information on this, it may not be as bad as it sounds. Serious though:
Mortality/Morbidity
Spontaneous internal carotid artery dissection has a reported mortality rate of less than 5%, although the morbidity and mortality of internal carotid artery dissection due to blunt trauma may be much higher.
Morbidity from carotid artery dissection varies in severity from transient focal deficits to permanent cerebral or retinal ischemic injury, and even death in the setting of trauma.
Over half of patients with spontaneous carotid artery dissection develop stroke,[1] although this may be delayed by hours or days.
Rates of delayed stroke due to blunt-traumatic causes of carotid artery injury range from 3% in grade I injuries to 44% in grade IV injuries.[2]
In the setting of blunt trauma, 37-58% of patients have permanent neurologic deficit on discharge,[6] although early use of antithrombotic therapy has essentially eliminated ischemic events in asymptomatic patients with carotid artery dissection.[4, 7]
As in other causes of stroke in young adults, the functional outcome is generally good, and recurrence of cerebral ischemia and carotid artery dissection is rare.[5]
It’s very serious. I’ve seen people die because of this. Hopefully he hasn’t had a big stroke. Very sad.
I had a spontaneous carotid artery dissection in 2004 at the age of 50. I was hospitalized at Barrows Neurological Institute in Phoenix for 1 day by the same doctor who later treated Sen. Tim Johnson in DC. Luckily, I never suffered a stroke or any bad effects, and although the cause was never really found, it is thought to be due to a particular respiratory virus that can weaken the arterial walls. I had had such a virus 2 weeks prior BTW.
I wish the Senator well and hope his outcome is as good as mine was.
Mrs. Prince of Space