Carotid Artery

Carotid artery disease occurs when the major arteries in your neck become narrowed or blocked. These arteries, called the carotid arteries, supply your brain with blood. Your carotid arteries extend from your aorta in your chest to the brain inside your skull.

Long-term studies by our group indicates that carotid artery disease is on the increase and at younger ages than ever.  The major changes in diet and lifestyle are responsible for the marked increase in cardiovascular disease in the Western world, and especially in the USA.

Arteries are normally smooth and unobstructed on the inside.  Our research indicates that high levels of red meat and protein in the diet creates an inflammatory process in the arteries and, in some areas, like the carotid arteries, the inflammation breaks down the vascular walls and the body responds by building up plaque to help repair the damage.   Plaque is made up primarily of calcium and fibrous tissue. As the plaque builds up, the arteries narrow and stiffen. This process is called arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Eventually, when enough plaque builds up to reduce blood flow through your carotid arteries, physicians call this carotid artery disease. Carotid artery disease is a serious health problem because it can cause a stroke.

Some plaque deposits are soft and are prone to cracking or forming roughened, irregular areas inside the artery. If this happens, your body will respond as if you were injured and flood the cracked and irregular area with blood-clotting cells called platelets. A large blood clot may then form in your carotid artery or one of its branches. If the clot blocks the artery enough to slow or stop blood and oxygen flow to your brain, it could cause a stroke. More commonly, a piece of the plaque itself, or a clot, breaks off from the plaque deposit and travels through your bloodstream. This particle can then lodge in a smaller artery in your brain and cause a stroke by blocking the artery.

Fortunately, you may be able to prevent or slow carotid artery disease. Quitting smoking is the most important change you can make to avoid this disease. One other major change has been found to be effective in reducing the inflammatory response that sets off the disease—DIET.  Reducing the intake of red meat and other proteins has been found to significantly lower the chances of developing cardiovascular injury with the resulting plaque. The famous “Atkins Diet” can be a major contributor to inflamed arteries as well as cancer and other serious illnesses.  A diet rich in raw vegetables and fish has been found in populations that are not generally affected by these cardiovascular events.

What are the symptoms?

Carotid artery disease may not cause symptoms in its early stages.

Unfortunately, the first sign of carotid artery disease could be a stroke. However, you may experience warning symptoms of a stroke called transient ischemic attacks, or TIAs. Symptoms of a TIA usually last for a few minutes to 1 hour and include:

• Feeling weakness, numbness, or a tingling sensation on one side of your body, for example, in an arm or a leg
• Being unable to control the movement of an arm or a leg
• Losing vision in one eye (many people describe this sensation as a window shade coming down)
• Being unable to speak clearly

These symptoms usually go away completely within 24 hours.  However, you should not ignore them. Having a TIA means that you are at serious risk of a stroke in the near future. You should report TIA symptoms to your physician immediately.

If you experience the above symptoms for longer than a few hours, or they don't resolve within 24 hours, a stroke has probably occurred. You should contact your physician immediately. 

What causes carotid artery disease?

Hardening of the arteries causes most cases of carotid artery disease.

Up until recently, experts did not fully understand the cause of hardening of the arteries. Long-term research by our Group indicates that plaque builds up in the arteries because of an injury to the artery's inner lining—injury caused by inflammation.  High cholesterol has not been found to be a significant factor.  In fact, high cholesterol does not appear to be a factor at all in cardiovascular disease.

What tests will I need?

There is now a screening device that is quick, 100% safe and non-evasive for seeing carotid artery inflammation.  It is called Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (DITI).  The photo below shows how evident Carotid Artery Disease is through application of this technology:

In the above DITI photo, the carotid artery is very visible due to the extreme inflammation.  This blockage is estimated to be 40 to 60% blocked!  Patient was also beginning to have trouble with vision in the right eye, due to the restriction of blood flow. 

After screening with DITI,  a carotid duplex ultrasound can be performed. In this test, a technician holds a small ultrasound probe to your neck. The probe emits high-frequency sound waves that bounce off of blood cells and blood vessels to show blood flow and problems with the structure of blood vessels. This test can show your physician how open your carotid arteries are and how quickly blood flows through them.

Carotid duplex ultrasound detects most cases of carotid artery disease. Once an estimate is made to the amount of blockage, action can be taken to dissolve the plaque through the use of new technology now available through our research organization.