Life Expectancy with Asymptomatic Carotid Artery Disease (ACAD)

The attending physicians when interacting with their patients, use every possible approach to cure the ailments. But life expectancy for a patient with threatening conditions, like cardiac issues, is lower. Here, a physician focuses on the survival chances the most and does the appropriate treatment accordingly. Carotid artery disease is one such condition that calls for treatment on time.

What’s Carotid Artery Disease?

ACAD is a serious condition characterized by plaque formation in carotid arteries.

Plaque is the deposition of fatty acid within the blood vessels. This narrows the passage for blood flow, causing more blood pressure on the walls of vessels. Whereas, carotid arteries are the two arteries in the neck area supplying oxygenated blood to the brain and head.

In carotid arteries, blood clotting (plaque formation) hinders blood passage. Resultantly, this deprives the brain cells of oxygen supply. This eventually increases the risk of heart strokes, minimizing the life expectancy for the patient.

Symptoms One Must be Aware of

ACAD does not appear suddenly. However, the stenosis of carotid arteries might direct toward fatal conditions; Ischemic Stroke (IS), or Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA). An ACAD patient does not notice any symptoms in the early stages until they get a TIA. Some symptoms of TIA are:

• Numbness \ weakness (more frequently on one side of the body) in the face or limbs
• Difficulty in speaking and understanding at once
• Trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden dizziness / Loss of body equilibrium
• Headache with no known cause

Whenever you come across the aforementioned symptoms, do not delay scheduling an appointment with a concerned physician. They can perform relevant tests, procedures, and treatments, and recommend medications accordingly.

Major Causes of ACAD

Plaques in the carotid artery give rise to carotid artery disease. Plaque-filled carotid arteries are rigid and constrictive.

Due to these plaques, vital brain structures struggle to receive oxygen and nutrients when carotid arteries are blocked. These structures are in charge of your body’s functioning. Thereby, oxygen depletion can impact badly.

According to the assessment of their risk intensity, the risk level of high concern is further subdivided into a few categories:

• Clinical Risk Symptoms Identification

In individuals with ACAD, the clinical symptoms are beneficial in encouraging the readability of risk. A physician caters to you with the support of therapeutic and clinical assistance after reviewing the different test reports. These include tests for smoking, addictive behaviors, obesity, etc.

• Stenosis Severity Range Check

Stenosis formation is a serious condition for any carotid artery patient. Therefore, we require a stenosis severity range check test plan for managing the patient’s conditions.

• An Embolus Lodging

Embolism is the process of lodging the blood clot (embolus) in the carotid artery. This clot doesn’t form in the brain artery but it travels with the bloodstream to this area. Embolism higher the risk of embolic stroke, a kind of ischemic stroke (IS).

• Transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography

This is a non-invasive ultrasound technique to measure cerebrovascular functions. It uses high-frequency sound waves to find the TCD value in real time. TCD value is mainly the data that depicts the rate and direction of the bloodstream in the brain.

Embolic generosity is risky. However, the TCD level can be used to establish the presence of an asymptomatic carotid artery stroke that shortens the life expectancy of the sick.

• Lower Level of Cerebral Blood Flow

A cerebrovascular level check is an easy and rapid way to assess the disease’s critical level. When the disease is at a high percentage in the cerebrovascular area, the diagnosis of sickness may have life-threatening consequences.

• Gender-Specific Treats

According to the research, females are more affected by illness than males. According to medical research, women may have a worse chance of surviving asymptomatic carotid artery disease.

• Impacts of Age Factor

Another aspect to consider when calculating the severity of the condition is age. Age plays a significant part in the condition, with older people and those in their late years being more susceptible. However, children and adolescents have a rare chance of developing ACAD.

Threats Reducing Life Expectancy | Complications in ACAD

10% to 20% of strokes are due to carotid artery disease. These strokes may result from carotid artery disease in the following ways:

Stroke may result from carotid artery disease via way of;

1. Decreased Blood Flow

Atherosclerosis can cause a carotid artery to become thin. That’s why not enough blood gets to certain parts of your brain.

2. Plaques Rupturing

A fragment of a plaque may separate and go to your brain’s smaller arteries. A plaque particle may become lodged in one of these smaller arteries, obstructing blood flow to a portion of your brain.

3. Obstruction by Blood Clots

On the arterial wall, some plaques are prone to cracking and creating uneven surfaces. When there is an injury, your body responds by sending blood cells. These blood cells aid in the clotting process. A big clot may form as a result and block or delay blood flow to the brain, leading to a stroke.

Preventions | How to Retard the Progression of Carotid Artery Disease? 

Since silent carotid artery disease is a severe problem, its treatment necessitates particular care. In handling the patient’s affairs, the pertinent departments do their duties well.

The patient’s risk level should be measured before initiating the treatment for asymptomatic carotid artery disease. Only then, the physician can suggest respective ACAD treatments to boost the life expectancy in such cases.

However, we have a traditional scheme ‘Prevention is Better than Cure. We can add up the plus point towards the life expectancy of a carotid artery disease patient.

Consider the following recommendations to stop or decrease the course of carotid artery disease:

• Avoid smoking. Also, a former smoker has more risk of encountering stroke due to ACAD than a non-smoker.
• Keep a healthy weight. An additional risk factor for developing diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, or sleep apnea comes with being overweight.
• Reduce your intake of fat and cholesterol. Limiting your intake of saturated fat in particular may help you avoid developing artery plaque.
• Choose a range of fruits and vegetables to eat. Veggies and fruits include antioxidants, potassium, folate, and other elements that may help prevent a TIA or stroke.
• Minimize your salt intake. People who are sensitive to sodium may have a rise in blood pressure due to excessive salt (sodium). Healthy individuals should consume no more than 1,500 mg of salt per day, according to experts.
• Do regular exercise; Exercise can enhance the general health of your blood vessels and heart. Moreover, it reduces your blood pressure and raises your levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, also known as the “good” cholesterol. Additionally, it aids in stress reduction, diabetic management, and weight loss.
• Alcohol use should be moderate.
• Manage persistent conditions. Controlling diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure aids in artery protection.
• In contrast, regular medical care, exercise, and excellent health maintenance help promote the disease’s healing pattern.

What is the Effective Treatment of Carotid Artery Disease?

Asymptomatic carotid artery disease is treatable, but prompt treatment is very important. Both levels of treatment—medical and surgical—are necessary for managing ACAD disease.

• Therapy Trials

Therapies are beneficial since they will let us see things from a wider viewpoint. Also, the treatment flow could get better with time.

• Surgical Approach

Experts advise surgery when they think the present approach is not working.

Life Expectancy | What are the Chances for a Patient to Survive with a Blocked Carotid Artery?

Patients with clogged arteries live happy lives until all the carotid arteries are completely blocked.

Bottom Line

For long-term health and happiness, an asymptomatic patient requires proper care. This may increase the life expectancy of the patient with a blocked carotid. The care may involve more than just the patient’s health plan with the help of a doctor. It may also involve improving lifestyles.