[jacobzweig]

Fellow BJJ player here – there have been numerous references to the increased risk of vascular injuries and stroke resulting from the high number of chokes that we routinely practice. One study, for instance, found that even brief interruptions in blood flow to the brain during a choke can result in cognitive deficits and other negative health outcomes (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5678212/).

I'm very glad to hear you recovered quickly, and encouraged by the potential for new treatments to help save more lives.

[stouset]

There was no evidence of a vascular dissection in my case. It was either a clot or other piece of debris that made its way to my brain, potentially via a PFO.

[wswope]

I suspect the person you're responding to was just throwing that out carotid dissection as an example; the general risk factor with BJJ is vessel wall injury (which dissection is a subset of). Blood clots from vessel trauma in peripheral parts of the body can migrate to cause thrombosis elsewhere.

Chokes are a big cause of vessel trauma, but hard takedowns, pressure passes, accidental strikes from spazzy white-belts, etc. all count too. Anything that can cause major bruising, really.

To be clear, I'm not trying to argue that anyone should avoid BJJ due to cardiovascular risk, and the sport is probably a large net benefit to cardiovascular health on the whole - but it can certainly be a proximate cause of a stroke if you get unlucky.