The two carotid arteries carry oxygen and nutrients in the form of blood from the heart to the brain. If you experience a blockage within one or both of your carotid arteries, you can experience a transient ischemic attack (mini-stroke) or stroke. Carotid artery blockage symptoms are not explicitly defined but typically resemble the warning signs of stroke. Seek emergency medical care if you develop any of the symptoms of a blocked carotid artery.
Headache
If your carotid arteries become blocked by a blood clot or fatty plaque, the flow of blood to your brain can be interrupted. When this occurs, you can experience the sudden onset of a severe headache. Painful headache symptoms due to carotid artery blockage can also be accompanied by sensations of nausea, dizziness, fainting or loss of consciousness in some patients.
Weakness
Decreased blood flow to the brain can interfere with your brain's ability to transmit nerve signals to your muscles. This can cause you to develop weakness or paralysis that affects one side of your body, explain health professionals at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston. Muscle weakness due to a blocked carotid artery can significantly interfere with your ability to stand or walk.
Numbness
You can develop sensations of numbness or tingling within certain regions of your body due to a blocked carotid artery. These sensations can occur in conjunction with weakness and typically develop on only one side of your body. Numbness within the face, arms or legs can cause speech or motor coordination difficulties to arise in some patients.
Blurred Vision
If your brain does not receive enough oxygen due to a blockage within a carotid artery, you can develop vision difficulties. In a 2006 article published in the journal "Circulation," Drs. Sobieszczyk and Beckman explained that a blocked carotid artery can cause sudden vision loss in one eye. These sensations can be disturbing and may be accompanied by dizziness or headache.
Slurred Speech
Poor blood flow to the brain due to carotid artery blockage can cause you to have difficulty speaking normally. You may begin slurring your speech or have trouble finding the words to express yourself. Such symptoms can make it hard for you to explain how you are feeling to a loved one or doctor.
References
- Texas Heart Institute: Carotid Artery Disease
- The Mayo Clinic: Carotid Artery Disease - Symptoms
- "Circulation"; Carotid Artery Disease; Piotr Sobieszczyk, MD and Joshua Beckman, MD, MS; 2006
