Carotid Artery Disease
Your carotid arteries serve as the main blood
supply to the brain. Plaque -- a fatty substance
made up of fat, cholesterol and mineral deposits
-- can clog these arteries, causing them to narrow
and block. When this occurs, you run the risk
of having a stroke. Penn Vascular Services can
diagnose these blocked arteries and make a decision
whether surgery is necessary.
Treatment options include a balloon angioplasty
and, if the blockage is severe, surgery. As Penn
Vascular Services is on the cutting edge of technology,
carotid surgery is performed without the need
for arteriography or general anesthesia.
Risk factors
The following risk factors can increase your
chances of carotid artery disease:
- diabetes
- smoking
- high cholesterol
- high blood pressure
Symptoms
The common symptoms of carotid artery blockages
are TIA transient ischemic attack, also known
as a mini-stroke or a stroke. The duration of
the symptoms determines if a patient has had a
TIA or a stroke. Symptoms include:
- weakness or paralysis in an arm or leg on
one side of your body
- severe numbness or tingling in an arm or
leg one side of your body
- loss of vision in one eye
- slurred speech
If you have any of these symptoms, be sure to
seek medical care immediately.
Our Services
In a suspected case of carotid artery disease,
the initial diagnostic test is a non-invasive
carotid ultrasound study that will be performed
at the Vascular Laboratory.
Further testing may include an angiography in
order to confirm the initial studies and evaluate
the current width of the arteries. An angiography
is a special diagnostic procedure that creates
a map of your blood vessels that shows any narrowing
in your arteries.
If a blockage in an artery is severe, surgery
is the best option. Specialists with Penn Vascular
Services perform the surgery using local anesthesia
only requiring an overnight stay. In unusual cases,
a balloon angioplasty
of the blocked artery may be considered as a treatment
option.
|
