Carotid Artery Blockage: Plaque, TIA and Stroke

Overview

Have you ever heard of a stroke? It is a very deadly disease that has killed a significant percentage of people globally. This is a result of a lack of enough blood flow into the brain. In any case, the reduced blood flow takes more than four to six hours; the problem becomes permanent.

You are advised to visit the doctor for a physical examination and give a thorough medical history. During the exam, your practitioner will listen for a whooshing sound, known as a bruit, over your carotid artery in the neck that characterizes a narrowed artery. The doctor checks your mental and physical capabilities that include memory, strength, and speech.

What is carotid artery disease?

The narrowing of the carotid artery occurs due to build-ups of fatty deposits. This leads to carotid artery disease. The fats clog the blood vessels known as carotid arteries, which carry blood to your brain.

This disease leads to:

• Interrupted blood flow.
• Ruptured plaques.
• A blood clot that blocks the arteries.

The cholesterol substances obstruct the vessels leading to an increased risk of stroke. This emergency occurs after the blood supply is seriously reduced or interrupted to flow in the brain.

Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), or stroke, is the first sign that you get. However, TIA is a mini-stroke caused by a temporarily reduced blood flow to your brain.

According to experts, its treatment will involve a combination of medication, change of lifestyle, or sometimes surgery. Making lifestyle changes is a great factor that eliminates the disease. You have to adopt a healthy diet and manage your high blood pressure.

Also, exercising helps prevent plaque build-ups in the carotid arteries, which improves cholesterol levels and the risk of obesity. Smoking tobacco is a risk factor that damages the blood vessels lining, thus increasing the plaque. Therefore, doctors recommend quitting to halt the progression of this disease and prevent stroke.

Carotid artery disease symptoms

Carotid artery disease does not show any symptoms; as mentioned earlier, the plague builds up for a long time without warning signs, leading to stroke or TIA.

However, stroke symptoms include:

• Memory loss
• Blurred vision and sudden loss of sight.
• Numbness on one side of the face, body, arm, or leg, tingling, and weakness
• Loss of balance and coordination leads to a walking problem.
• Sudden confusion and dizziness.
• Aphasia is caused by difficulty in speaking.
• Confusion
• Severe headache
• Test in swallowing is known as dysphagia.
• Slurred speech.
• Loss of coordination
• Difficulty swallowing

Carotid artery blockage

Carotid artery blockage is caused by atherosclerosis, a disease caused by fatty deposits that clog the blood vessels that supply blood to the brain.

This artery blockage reduces the blood supply to your brain. It leads to a stroke.

Clumps of: bring about the blockage.

• Cholesterol
• Calcium
• Protein
• Fat
• Cellular waste

Atherosclerosis makes the carotid arteries less flexible and narrower over time. It limits the blood supply to the organs.

Take Away.

For non-emergency follow-up after urgent assessment, or to discuss an established diagnosis or risk factors without new symptoms, contact WVS about scheduling. Appointment requests are not a way to obtain emergency care.