Angiology: Open Access
Open Access

An Outlook - Carotid Artery Disease (CAD)

Wilbert S. Aronow^{* *}Correspondence: Wilbert S. Aronow, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA, Tel: (914) 493-7000, Email:

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Carotid artery disease may be a disease during which a waxy substance called plaque builds up inside the carotid arteries. You’ve got two common carotid artery arteries, one on all sides of your neck. They individually divide into internal and external carotid artery arteries.

The internal carotid arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to your brain whereas the external carotid artery arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to your face, scalp, and neck.

Carotid artery disease is important because it can cause a stroke, also called a “brain attack.” A stroke occurs if blood flow to your brain is stop

If blood flow is stop for quite a couple of minutes, the cells in your brain start to die. This impairs various parts of the body that the brain cells control. A stroke can cause lasting brain damage; long-term disability, like vision or speech problems or paralysis (an inability to move); or death. Over time, plaque hardens and narrows the arteries. This might limit the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your organs and other parts of your body

Atherosclerosis can affect any artery within the body. for instance, if plaque builds up within the coronary (heart) arteries, a attack can occur. If plaque builds up within the carotid arteries, a stroke can occur. A stroke can also occur if blood clots form within the carotid arteries. This will happen if the plaque in an artery cracks or ruptures. Blood corpuscle fragments called platelets (PLATElets) stick with the location of the injury and should clump together to make blood clots. Blood clots can partly or fully block a arteria carotis.

A piece of plaque or a grume can also break free from the wall of the arteria carotis. The plaque or clot can travel through the bloodstream and obtain stuck in one among the brain's smaller arteries. This will block blood flow within the artery and cause a stroke.

Carotid artery disease might not cause signs or symptoms until the carotid arteries are severely narrowed or blocked. For a few people, a stroke is that the first sign of the disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 795,000 people trusted Source have a stroke per annum within the US. Most of those strokes are either caused by arteria carotis disease or fibrillation, which is an irregular heartbeat. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute notes that arteria carotis disease causes quite half of the problems.