Learn and understand more about carotid artery disease
Obese and overweight people are at risk of suffering from cardiovascular conditions like cardiac artery disease. Similarly, those people diagnosed with cardiac artery disease can develop stroke if the condition is left untreated. Therefore, if you have been diagnosed with any cardiovascular condition, especially cardiac artery, and seek treatment, the Evergreen Park nurse practitioner ensures your concerns are taken care of. The care provider offers several cutting-edge therapies to reduce your risk of developing stroke and manage carotid artery disease. Below is all you should know about carotid artery disease.
What is carotid artery disease?
Cardiac artery disease is a medical condition caused by a blockage or clot in the arteries that supply your brain with blood. And if your arteries are completely clogged, prevent the supply of blood and oxygen to your brain from causing a stroke. Therefore, if the hollow part of your artery is reduced by approximately seventy percent, you are at a greater risk of having a stroke. Reduced oxygen supply to your brain is dangerous because it causes your brain cells to start dying within a minute of reduced blood supply. Generally, a stroke requires immediate care.
What are the symptoms of carotid artery disease?
Most cardiovascular conditions, including carotid artery disease, usually develop with time. Therefore, it is not easy to know that your arteries are clogged until you suffer from a transient heart attack or stroke. A transient ischemic heart attack occurs when the blood supply to your brain is temporarily reduced. In this case, you experience symptoms like dizziness, confusion, numbness, weakness, blurred vision, or temporary loss of coordination. In most cases, people who have had this attack eventually have a full-blown stroke within a year. Therefore, you are required to undergo regular examination and evaluation.
How can you treat carotid artery disease?
The treatment of carotid artery disease varies depending on the severity of your condition. Most specialists hence recommend either minimally invasive procedures, medical management, or surgery. Medical management may involve lifestyle modification, including physical exercises, dietary changes, quitting smoking and weight management. Some medications are also given to help lower high cholesterol levels or blood pressure. Additional treatment options include:
- Minimally invasive therapies
It involves placing a stent inside your carotid artery.
- Open surgical techniques
In this procedure, your care provider makes tiny incisions in your neck to help access your carotid artery. The plaque in your artery is removed, and the artery is later closed using a patch.
What is transCarotid Artery Revascularization?
It is a minimally-invasive procedure that lowers your risk of infection, nerve damage, heart attack, and stroke risk. During your appointment, your specialist makes tiny incisions above the collarbone and after accessing your carotid artery, a puncture is made, and a narrow tube is inserted. The tube is then connected to the transcarotid neuro-protection system, which temporarily directs blood away from the brain and removes any plague that blocks the artery. A stent is placed, filtered blood, restoring your blood flow to normal.
Carotid artery disease predisposes you to stroke or transient ischemic heart attack. Therefore, if you are experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned earlier of carotid artery disease and seek treatment, you can get started by calling or consulting Vascular Specialists today.
