1. Develop Healthier Lifestyle Habits
Your carotid arteries are the primary lines of blood supply to your brain. When enough plaque builds up in them to block some of the blood flow, you have carotid artery disease. It is very dangerous, because if left untreated, it can lead to stroke and ultimately death.
Once you've been diagnosed with carotid artery disease, your physician will instruct you to change certain lifestyle habits in order to prevent further plaque buildup and even more restricted blood flow. Plaque is a combination of cholesterol, calcium and other fibrous substances. Limiting your intake of foods with high salt and cholesterol content can reduce the buildup of more plaque. Keeping undue stress off the arteries is also key to treating carotid artery disease. This means getting regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, controlling your blood pressure and blood sugar levels and not smoking.
2. Use Medication to Decrease Your Cholesterol
In recent years, researchers have found drugs called statins that can actually lower your cholesterol count. These drugs work to minimize the amount of plaque that continues to stick to the walls of your arteries. Other helpful medications might include blood-pressure regulating drugs and blood thinners that keep harmful clots from further blocking your blood lines.
3. Consider Surgery to Keep Blood Flowing Smoothly
There are two possible types of surgery that can be used to treat carotid artery disease. These are the carotid endarterectomy and carotid angioplasty and stenting. An endarterectomy involves making an incision in your neck and artery. The artery is pulled open enough for the surgeon to remove the offending plaque. This is the more common surgical technique. It has been tested and proven to be very safe and requires a hospital stay of 48 hours or less.
When an endarterectomy is not possible, a carotid angioplasty and stenting can be the next best option. A catheter is inserted into the artery, starting in the groin area, and is pushed up to the neck. There a very small balloon at the end of the catheter is inflated to widen the existing blood-flow space. At that point, a metal mesh tube or stent is placed in the artery to keep it from getting any narrower. The recovery period is comparable to that for an endarterectomy, but because the stenting method is newer it has not been as well tested for safety and effectiveness.
