Editors' note: Swallowing-induced displacement of the carotid artery as a risk of stroke: Flip-flop phenomenon

In “Swallowing-induced displacement of the carotid artery as a risk of stroke: Flip-flop phenomenon,” the authors hypothesized that the migration of the internal carotid artery (ICA) with swallowing, in the presence of a moderate ICA plaque, may be a risk factor for stroke in certain cases. Drs. Zaed and Lanzino describe a patient who experienced recurrent strokes exclusively while eating and in whom imaging showed a complicated ICA plaque. They believe that, in this patient as well, mobilization of the ICA during swallowing was a trigger for recurrent emboli. Authors Kinoshita et al. agree that this phenomenon may be underrecognized and that carotid ultrasound or dynamic MRI may be useful. In “Swallowing-induced displacement of the carotid artery as a risk of stroke: Flip-flop phenomenon,” the authors hypothesized that the migration of the internal carotid artery (ICA) with swallowing, in the presence of a moderate ICA plaque, may be a risk factor for stroke in certain cases. Drs. Zaed and Lanzino describe a patient who experienced recurrent strokes exclusively while eating and in whom imaging showed a complicated ICA plaque.