19th July 2023

A 29-year-old man presents to ED with an 8-day history of occipital headache and neck pain.

A 29-year-old man presents to ED with an 8-day history of occipital headache and neck pain. In the last 24 hours, he had started to experience slurring of his speech and loss of balance. On further questioning, he mentions that he did have a bad fall to the ground from a football tackle shortly before his symptoms started. He has no past medical history.

CT imaging confirms an ischaemic stroke.

What is the most likely cause?

Select the SINGLE most appropriate option from the list below. Select ONE option only.