What are the carotid arteries?
Arteries carry oxygen-rich blood away from the heart to the head
and body. There are two carotid arteries (one on each side of the neck) that
supply blood to the brain. The carotid arteries can be felt on each side of the
lower neck, immediately below the angle of the jaw.
The carotid arteries supply blood to the large, front part of
the brain, where thinking, speech, personality and sensory and motor functions
reside.
The vertebral arteries run through the spine and supply blood to the back part of the brain (the brainstem and cerebellum).
What is carotid artery disease?
Carotid artery disease, also called carotid artery stenosis, is
the narrowing of the carotid arteries, usually caused by atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis is the buildup of cholesterol, fat and other substances
traveling through the bloodstream, such as inflammatory cells, cellular waste
products, proteins and calcium. These substances stick to the blood vessel walls
over time as people age, and combine to form a material called plaque.
Plaque buildup can lead to narrowing or blockage in the carotid
artery, reducing blood flow to the brain.
What are the risk factors for carotid artery disease?
The risk factors that have been linked to the development of atherosclerosis include:
- Family history of atherosclerosis (either carotid artery disease or
coronary artery disease)
- Age: men under age 75 have a greater risk of devel- oping carotid artery
disease than women, but after age 75, women have a greater risk than men
- High levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL, bad cholesterol) and
triglycerides in the blood. However, this link is not as strong as it is for
coronary artery disease.
- Smoking
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Sedentary lifestyle
Typically, the carotid arteries become diseased a few years
later than the coronary arteries. People who have coronary artery disease have a
higher risk of developing carotid artery disease.
What are the symptoms?
There may not be any symptoms of carotid artery disease.
However, there are warning signs of a stroke. A transient ischemic attack (also
called TIA or "mini-stroke") is one of the most important warning signs of a
stroke. A TIA occurs when a blood clot briefly blocks an artery that supplies
blood to the brain. The following symptoms of a TIA, which are temporary and may
last a few minutes or a few hours, can occur alone or in combination: