Carotid Artery Disease
What is Carotid Artery Disease
Your carotid arteries, located on either side of your neck, carry blood to your brain. As you age, a sticky substance called plaque can build up in your arteries and may cause the blood flow to your brain to be partially blocked. As a result, you may suffer a stroke or the early warning signs of a stroke.
In some cases, a blood clot might form in your carotid artery or one of its branches. If the clot breaks off and travels through your bloodstream to your brain, you may also suffer a stroke.
What are the symptoms
Carotid artery disease may not cause any symptoms at all. Some people, however, do have warning signs of stroke called transient ischemic attacks or TIAs. A TIA usually lasts from a few minutes to one hour and should not be ignored because more than 30 percent of patients who experience one will later suffer a stroke. You should seek immediate medical attention if you experience any of these common TIA symptoms:
- Weakness, numbness, a feeling of heaviness or tingling on one side of your body or an inability to move your face, arm, or leg
- Trouble seeing such as blurring or double vision, or a sensation that a shade has been pulled over one eye
- Being unable to speak clearly or to find or understand words
- Sudden vertigo, clumsiness, staggering, or fainting
Which tests will I need
After conducting a complete physical exam, your physician may recommend that you have a carotid duplex ultrasound. This is a simple, painless test in which a technician holds a small ultrasound probe to your neck to check the blood flow in your carotid arteries.
You may also be asked to undergo one or more of the following tests: a CT scan or CT angiography; magnetic resonance angiogram, or an angiogram of your head and neck.
How is Carotid Artery Disease treated
Treatment for carotid artery disease varies, depending on the extent of your condition and your overall health. To begin with, your doctor may prescribe lifestyle changes and medications (to control blood pressure and high cholesterol, for example). In more severe cases, you may need a surgical procedure called carotid endarterectomy. The surgery removes plaque in your carotid artery and is safe and effective when performed by a qualified vascular surgeon.
For more patient education information, please visit www.VascularWeb.org.
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