Mostly, acute severe headache presenting to the emergency department accounts for 1-2% of admissions. Whilst the differential diagnosis in the setting of a non-traumatic headache is extensive, it is imperative that life-threatening causes of a headache are identified in a timely fashion and treated appropriately. RCVS is one of these differentials that potentially has dire consequences and, with improving technology and awareness, is being increasingly diagnosed. Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) is an increasingly recognized and important cause of an acute headache causing serious neurological complications.
The rigorous investigation is required to exclude other significant differential diagnoses. This article describes the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical features and treatment of the syndrome. Epidemiology There is a clear female predominance of RCVS in all…
