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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
Carotid angioplasty (kuh-ROT-id AN-je-oh-plas-te) is a procedure that opens clogged arteries to prevent or treat stroke. The carotid arteries are located on each side of your neck and are the main arteries supplying blood to your brain. The procedure involves temporarily inserting and inflating a tiny balloon where your carotid artery is clogged to widen the artery.
Carotid angioplasty is often combined with the placement of a small metal coil called a stent in the clogged artery. The stent helps prop the artery open and decreases the chance of it narrowing again. Carotid angioplasty and stenting may be used when traditional carotid surgery isn't feasible or is too risky.
- Greelish JP, et al. Carotid artery stenting and its complications. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 9, 2011.
- Naggara O, et al. Anatomical and technical factors associated with stroke or death during carotid angioplasty and stenting: Results from the endarterectomy versus angioplasty in patients with severe symptomatic carotid stenosis (EVA - 3S) trial and systematic review. Stroke. 2011;42:380.
- Lin PH, et al. Carotid artery disease. In: Brunicardi FC, et al. Schwartz's Principles of Surgery. 9th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2010. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=5024036&searchStr=percutaneous+transluminal+angioplasty+of+carotid+artery#5024036. Accessed May 9, 2011.
- Oran NT, et al. Carotid angioplasty and stenting in carotid artery stenosis: Neuroscience nursing implications. Journal of Neuroscience Nursing. 2010;42:3.
- Angioplasty and vascular stenting. Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=angioplasty. Accessed May 8, 2011.
- Carotid artery disease. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/catd/catd_all.html. Accessed May 9, 2011.
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