Abstract
A 71-year-old man presented with acute, right-sided neck pain and marked falls in blood pressure in response to cervical extension/rotation. Enhanced CT of the right carotid artery showed wall thickening and soft tissue enhancement surrounding the vessel. Ultrasonography demonstrated wall thickening and marked acceleration of the blood flow velocity. [18F] fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron-emission tomography (PET)-CT revealed increased FDG activity in the area of the right carotid bulb. The patient's symptoms resolved in 2 weeks with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug; regression of wall thickening and decreased velocity were observed on follow-up ultrasonography. A carotid inflammatory process due to carotidynia in addition to atherosclerosis may increase carotid sinus baroreceptor stimulation, resulting in the onset of carotid sinus hypersensitivity.
