Carotid Artery Disease

Carotid artery disease means that a large blood vessel in your neck is partly blocked. You may not have symptoms. But the condition is serious because it can lead to a stroke.

This procedure removes plaque that's blocking a carotid artery. That's an artery that sends blood to your brain and your face. You have two of these arteries, one on each side of your neck.

Stroke occurs when a blood vessel bringing blood and oxygen to the brain gets blocked by a clot or ruptures. When this happens, brain cells don't get the blood and oxygen that they need to survive. This causes nerve cells to stop working and die within minutes. Then, the part of the body they control are affected. The effects of stroke may be permanent depending on how many cells die, where they are in the brain, and other factors. © AHA