Table 2.

Clinical spectrum of carotid occlusive disease

Clinical presentation	Features
Ischaemic stroke	Especially ‘borderzone’ infarcts in anterior or posterior cortical watershed or in the deep internal watershed territories
Transient ischaemic attack	Can be provoked by standing posture or new antihypertensive treatment
Limb-jerking	Transient repetitive involuntary limb movements, which may be misdiagnosed as partial seizures (but with no Jacksonian march, no epileptiform activity on EEG and no improvement with anticonvulsants)4
Ocular symptoms	Amaurosis fugax (complete loss of vision), or even unilateral blurred vision when looking at bright light or going from cold to warm surroundings (retinal claudication)41 42
Syncope	Associated with standing posture but often with no drop in systemic blood pressure5
Cognitive impairment	Gradual deterioration in memory and other cognitive facets43
Transient global amnesia	Short-term loss of memory function with no other signs of impaired cognition6