Cerebral Hyperperfusion Syndrome Presenting As Status Epilepticus Following Carotid Endarterectomy

Cerebral Hyperperfusion Syndrome (CHS) is a rare syndrome, commonly described as a prodrome of symptoms including a severe ipsilateral headache, focal neurological deficits, intracerebral hemorrhage, and occasionally includes seizures or encephalopathy. Our case involves a 76-year-old man who underwent a left carotid endarterectomy (CEA) for symptomatic high-grade stenosis of his left carotid artery. Post-operative day one, the patient was seen and examined in the early morning and found to be doing well, with blood pressures well-controlled and at his neurologic baseline. Three hours later, he was reported to have a sudden spike in his blood pressure and was experiencing focal motor seizures involving the right arm and face, both of which were unrelieved by anti-hypertensives and anti-seizure medications. The patient subsequently developed worsening respiratory function requiring intubation for status epilepticus. Repeat head and neck imaging with CT, CT angiography, and MRI demonstrated the known previous subacute infarct with new cerebral edema, patent carotid arteries bilaterally, and no acute infarct or intracerebral hemorrhage. While CHS is a rare syndrome with well-documented symptomatology, we present a unique case in which focal motor status epilepticus was the only presenting symptom in a patient who otherwise meets the criteria of CHS based on radiographic evidence of cerebral edema following an elective CEA.