Carotid Artery Disease
Carotid artery disease, or carotid stenosis, is a narrowing or constriction of the inner surface (lumen) of the carotid artery.
The carotid artery is the large artery whose pulse can be felt on both sides of the neck under the jaw. It starts from the aorta as the common carotid artery, and at the throat it forks into the internal carotid artery and the external carotid artery. The internal carotid artery supplies the brain, and the external carotid artery supplies the face. This fork is a common site for atherosclerosis, an inflammatory buildup of plaque that can narrow the common or internal artery.
Diagnosing Carotid Artery Disease
Carotid artery disease is diagnosed with a flow duplex ultrasound scan of the carotid arteries in the neck. This involves no radiation, no needles, and no contrast agents that may cause allergic reactions. This test has moderate sensitivity and specificity, and yields many false-positive results.
Further imaging is usually required. One of several different imaging modalities, such as angiogram, computed tomography angiogram (CTA) or magnetic resonance imaging angiogram (MRA) may be useful. Each imaging modality has its advantages and disadvantages - the investigation chosen will depend on the clinical question and the imaging expertise, experience, and equipment available.
Carotid artery disease treatment at Emory involves multidisciplinary physician teams, state-of-the-art technology, and the highest quality patient care. Both carotid endarterectomy and carotid angioplasty and stenting are options for managing selected cases of carotid stenosis.
