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Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery

Legs for Life, National Screening for Vascular Disease.

Toronto Endovascular Centre

This website has been created by physicians for the education of the public, patients and their families

Cerebrovascular & Carotid Artery Disease

 

Background

How Can Carotid Artery Disease Be Diagnosed?

Treatment Options

How Can I Get Screened & Treated for Cerebrovascular Disease?

Common Questions & Answers

Bibliography

 

 


Common Questions & Answers

What is carotid artery disease?

What are the symptoms of carotid artery disease?

What causes carotid artery disease?

What is carotid endarterectomy?

What is carotid artery stenting?

 

 

What is carotid artery disease?

Carotid artery disease occurs when the major arteries in your neck become narrowed or blocked. These arteries, called the carotid arteries, supply your brain with blood. Your carotid arteries extend from your aorta in your chest to the brain inside your skull.

What are the symptoms of carotid artery disease?

Carotid artery disease may not cause symptoms in its early stages.

Unfortunately, the first sign of carotid artery disease could be a stroke. However, you may experience warning symptoms of a stroke called transient ischemic attacks, or TIAs. Symptoms of a TIA usually last for a few minutes to 1 hour and include:

  • Feeling weakness, numbness, or a tingling sensation on one side of your body, for example, in an arm or a leg
  • Being unable to control the movement of an arm or a leg
  • Losing vision in one eye (many people describe this sensation as a window shade coming down)
  • Being unable to speak clearly

What causes carotid artery disease?

Hardening of the arteries causes most cases of carotid artery disease.

What is carotid endarterectomy?

Carotid endarterectomy is an operation that removes the inner lining of your carotid artery. This procedure eliminates a substance called plaque from your artery.

What is carotid artery stenting?

Carotid artery stenting is a procedure in which your vascular surgeon inserts a slender, metal-mesh tube, called a stent, which expands inside your carotid artery to increase blood flow in areas blocked by plaque.

 

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