Another predisposition for carotid or vertebral arterial dissections is a condition called fibromuscular dysplasia.
Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) is an arterial disease that is not related to inflammation and primarily affects women. Acute manifestations may include bleeding, stenosis, aneurysm, dissection, or tortuosity. Fibromuscular dysplasia primarily affects the medial layer of the vessel. According to a recent study, about 40% of patients with fibromuscular dysplasia may develop an aneurysm or dissection. FMD does not have any unique symptoms and can only be diagnosed with advanced imaging techniques.

Recurrence of dissections in patients with fibromuscular dysplasia is more common. Overall recurrence for dissections of cerebral vessels is about 1%.

In addition, fibromuscular dysplasia may be seen in refractory hypertension. In those cases, typically the renal (kidney) arteries are involved. In some patients, celiac arteries that supply our gastrointestinal (GI) system can cause abdominal pain after meals. This may be a sign of FMD. Fibromuscular dysplasia also affects the coronary arteries and pronation may lead to a heart attack.

There is no specific treatment for FMD. If a patient has significant hypertension, abdominal pain, or chest pain then FMD should be accounted for.

Fibromuscular dysplasia likely has some genetic links. It has been seen in first and second degree relatives in 7-11% of patients. Previous studies did not show any overlap between identifiable heritable connective tissue disorders and dissections. Recently, the gene called CADISP has been linked to moderate increase in cervical arterial dissections and FMD.
A good source of additional information for fibromuscular dysplasia is Fibromuscular Dysplasia Society of America http://www.fmdsa.org/.
Another good website is https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fibromuscular-dysplasia/symptoms- causes/syc-20352144