Carotid artery disease

The heart is not the only organ affected by atherosclerosis. One-half million Americans suffer strokes each year, which often result in death or considerable disability. Minimizing risk factor is key to preventing stroke, and a main risk factor is carotid artery stenosis, or blocked carotid arteries, which accounts for approximately 20 to 30 percent of all strokes. The carotid arteries are the pipelines carrying precious oxygen-rich blood to the brain which can be damaged by atherosclerosis.

Carotid arteries narrowed by atherosclerosis can lead to a stroke when the blockage is great enough to prevent blood flow or if an embolus (blood clot) lodges in the narrowed artery. If the carotid artery is blocked, the doctor may hear a bruit (an abnormal sound in the neck) when he listens with a stethoscope.

When one or both carotid arteries becomes blocked by atherosclerosis, the same condition that blocks vessels, causing angina (chest pain) and myocardial infraction-surgeons can sometimes scrape them clean in a procedure called endarterectomy.

However it is a surgical procedure in which an incision is made in the neck, the carotid artery is opened, and the atherosclerotic plaque is removed; it is the traditional surgical treatment for carotid artery disease. Endarterectomy carries a number of risks, however, it is not suitable for all patients. 

Symptoms of a stroke:

• Sudden weakness or numbness in the face, arm, or leg on one side of the body
  
• Abrupt deterioration of speech, vision, or sensation
  
• Dimness or impaired vision in one eye
  
• Loss or near-loss of consciousness
  
• Confusion
  
• Severe and persistent headache
  
• Sudden memory loss
  
• Unexplained dizziness
  
• Sudden falls
  
• Sensations of weakness
  
• Tingling or numbness
  
• Blind spots or blurred vision
  
• Loss of balance
  
• Poor coordination
  

Some people with carotid artery stenosis, for example, are too sick with heart disease, lung disease, or neurological instability or simply too weak from advancing age to have the procedure done. Others have already undergone endarterectomy and suffer from restenosis. Another group of people have both blocked carotid and coronary arteries, and performing both carotid endarterectomy and CABG (by-pass) surgery in them is quite risky.

Presently there are alternative procedures available for both Bypass surgery as well as Carotid artery disease without the patient have to undergo surgical procedures.