How to Treat Carotid Artery Blockage
How to Treat Carotid Artery Blockage
How to Treat Carotid Artery Blockage
Think you might have carotid artery blockage or know someone who does? If you have carotid artery blockage, you face a significantly elevated risk of stroke. And, you would not be alone. Each year, about 900,000 people in the United States die of heart disease or stroke. In fact, the older you are, the higher your risk. And, more men than women have strokes. Strokes are the number three killer in the United States and are a leading cause of disability among the elderly.
Carotid artery disease is a condition that occurs when plaque (a fatty material) builds up within the arteries. The medical term for this is atherosclerosis, or "hardening of the arteries," and greatly restricts blood flow to the brain. Another cause of strokes is when blood clots form in the arteries, which happens when the plaque build-up eventually cracks. It's important to be aware of potential indicators of these conditions, as it is possible for a stroke, or 'mini-stroke,' to be the first warning sign.
Symptoms of Carotid Artery Blockage
It is a serious medical condition. In fact, the blockage may exist for years on end before symptoms start to develop. Symptoms are usually subtle, and in most cases, the symptoms exhibit in the form of paralysis or "brain attack." Symptoms can include:
- Simply hissing sound
- Severe headache
- Temporary loss of hearing or vision (sometimes both)
- Sudden loss in motor coordination
- Temporary numbness usually on one side of the face, leg or arm
- Sudden difficulty in thinking, speaking and understanding
Carotid artery disease can be diagnosed
In most cases, your doctor cannot tell you whether you have carotid artery disease via a normal checkup. Your doctor may ask you whether you have had common symptoms of a stroke, such as muscle weakness or numbness, etc. However, in many cases, these symptoms are simply not present. This is exactly why most doctors will ask you to get screened by a preventive screening company which uses one of several diagnostic tools to verify your risk of carotid artery blockage.
Diagnostic tools employed to detect carotid blockage include:
a. Ultrasound imaging: Inexpensive, uses harmless sound waves to check blood flow, is non-radioactive, takes less than 5 minutes, and is very accessible via mobile health screening organizations in your neighborhood.
b. Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA/MRI): Expensive, uses powerful magnetic fields to give a detailed picture of your carotid arteries, takes about an hour, and is located in most hospitals or imaging centers.
c. Oculoplethysmography: Expensive, measures the pulsation of the arteries in the back of your eye as an indirect check for blockages in the carotid arteries, and is difficult to find in today's marketplace.
d.Arteriography and digital subtraction angiography (DSA): Expensive, X-ray pictures of the carotid artery after a special dye is injected into your bloodstream, heavy radiation dosage, and located in most hospitals.
Methods of Preventing a Stroke
The best precautions to take against having a stroke include the cessation of smoking, monitoring of blood pressure, and blood sugar control among individual who have diabetes. Certain individuals who are at a higher risk for stroke may also be prescribed medications by their physician including aspirin or anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs such as warfarin and ticlopidine.
Individuals over the age of sixty five are at a higher risk for stroke as they account for seventy five percent of all stroke victims, therefore, if you are over the age of sixty five it is essential that you check your blood pressure regularly as well as have routine physical examinations.
Treatment of Artery Blockage
The treatment of carotid artery blockage would depend on the symptoms presented and the severity of the blockage. For cases caught early on where the level of blockage is yet to be damaging, medications and blood thinners are usually enough for a patient to get by. For more severe cases, however, more invasive procedures to remove the blockage (heart by-pass surgery or angioplasty) may be recommended.
Reusable Cleaning Cloths How To Create A Bohemian Headband With Fabric Trims Hypertension Primary Pulmonary- Free Helpful Tip For Hypertension Primary Pulmonary Greetings On The Eve Of Easter Do You Need To Spend Time on a Plan for The Coming Year? Buyers Guide For External Hard Drive Cases Choosing Your Neighborhood IP telephony: An effective way of reducing the call costs Enhance Your Browsing Experience With Secure Browser Why Do Companies Need To Rebrand Themselves? TV Stands UK Multi-Tasking in the Cockpit Halo: Reach Tutorials – How To Shoot Faster