Carotid Artery Disease

Symptoms

Carotid artery disease can cause:

• Temporary loss of vision or graying out of vision in one eye (amaurosis fugax)
• Transient ischemic attacks (TIA)
• Reversible ischemic neurological deficits (RIND)
• Stroke

A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a temporary neurologic deficit such as weakness, numbness or difficulty speaking that lasts less than 24 hours and from which the patient recovers completely. A reversible ischemic neurologic deficit (RIND) lasts more than 24 hours but the patient still recovers completely. As many as 75 percent of people who suffer a stroke related to carotid artery disease have a TIA before the stroke. Carotid artery disease is just one possible cause of TIAs.

If carotid artery disease does not cause symptoms before it is detected, it is considered asymptomatic. Blood flowing through a narrowing in the artery may cause a noise that can be heard when a stethoscope is placed on the neck. This noise is called a bruit and may prompt the doctor to order an imaging test of the carotid arteries.