Carotid Artery Disease

Patho physiology: Carotid artery disease is a disease in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up inside the carotid arteries. You have two common carotid arteries, one on each side of your neck. They each divide into internal and external carotid arteries. The internal carotid arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to your brain. The external carotid arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to your face, scalp, and neck. If plaque builds up in the body's arteries, the condition is called atherosclerosis. Over time, plaque hardens and narrows the arteries. This may limit the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your organs and other parts of your body. Atherosclerosis can affect any artery in the body. For example, if plaque builds up in the coronary (heart) arteries, a heart attack can occur. If plaque builds up in the carotid arteries, a stroke can occur. A stroke also can occur if blood clots form in the carotid arteries. This can happen if the plaque in an artery cracks or ruptures. Blood cell fragments called platelets (PLATE-lets) stick to the site of the injury and may clump together to form blood clots. Blood clots can partly or fully block a carotid artery.

Treatment: Treatments for carotid artery disease may include lifestyle changes, medicines, and medical procedures. The goals of treatment are to stop the disease from getting worse and to prevent a stroke. Making lifestyle changes can help prevent carotid artery disease or keep it from getting worse. For some people, these changes may be the only treatment needed: • Follow a healthy diet to prevent or lower high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol and to maintain a healthy weight. • Be physically active. Check with your doctor first to find out how much and what kinds of activity are safe for you. • If you're overweight or obese, lose weight. • If you smoke, quit. Also, try to avoid secondhand smoke. You may need medicines to treat diseases and conditions that damage the carotid arteries. High blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes can worsen carotid artery disease. Some people can control these risk factors with lifestyle changes. Others also need medicines to achieve and maintain control. You may need anticlotting medicines to prevent blood clots from forming in your carotid arteries and causing a stroke. Damage and plaque buildup make blood clots more likely. Aspirin and clopidogrel are two common anticlotting medicines. They stop platelets from clumping together to form clots. These medicines are a mainstay of treatment for people who have known carotid artery disease. You may need a medical procedure to treat carotid artery disease. Doctors use one of two methods to open narrowed or blocked carotid arteries: carotid endarterectomy (END-ar-ter-EK-to-me) and carotid artery angioplasty and stenting.

Research: Screening for concomitant atherosclerotic disease is important in cardiovascular risk reduction. This study assessed the prevalence of carotid artery disease (CAD) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in patients with known abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). All patients with AAA attending the vascular laboratory between the January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2009, were eligible for a carotid ultrasound and measurement of ankle brachial indices. A total of 389 (305 males) patients were identified on the AAA surveillance program with a mean (±standard deviation) age of 76 (±8) years. The mean age of the males was 75.4 (±7.8) years, and the mean age of the females was 77 (±11) years. A total of 332 patients were assessed for CAD, and 101 (30.4%) of those were found to have significant disease. A total of 289 patients were assessed for PAD of which 131 (45.3%) were found to have PAD at rest, and 289 patients were assessed for both and 59 (20.4%) patients had significant CAD + PAD. Patients with AAAs are at high risk of other atherosclerotic disorders, and, therefore, they should receive intensive medical optimization

Statistics: 138.36 rate of deaths were caused due to carotid artery disease