Cardiology

Researchers find new strategy for preventing clogged arteries

Revving up a process that slows down as we age may protect against atherosclerosis, a major cause of heart attacks and strokes. In findings published online today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), ...

Cardiology

Patient with CAS of 50 percent should not undergo screening

(HealthDay)—A vascular surgeon and primary care physician agree that an asymptomatic patient with cardiovascular risk and stenosis of 50 percent on screening carotid ultrasonography should not undergo carotid artery stenosis ...

Cardiology

Why do older asymptomatic patients have carotid imaging

Most of the patients who had carotid revascularization for asymptomatic carotid disease were diagnosed on the basis of carotid imaging tests ordered for uncertain or inappropriate indications, according to a new study published ...

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Endarterectomy

Endarterectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the atheromatous plaque material, or blockage, in the lining of an artery constricted by the buildup of soft/hardening deposits. It is carried out by separating the plaque from the arterial wall.

It was first performed on a superficial femoral artery in 1946 by the Portuguese surgeon João Cid dos Santos at the University of Lisbon. In 1951, E. J. Wylie, an American, performed it on the abdominal aorta. The first successful reconstruction of the carotid artery was performed by Carrea, Molins, and Murphy in Argentina, later in the same year.

The procedure is widely used on the carotid artery of the neck as a way to reduce the risk of stroke, particularly when the carotid artery is narrowed by more than 70%. A carotid endarterectomy may itself cause a stroke at the time of operation.

Endarterectomy is also used as a supplement to a vein bypass graft to open up distal segments.

Pulmonary hypertension caused by chronic thromboembolic disease (CTEPH) may be amenable to endarterectomy of the pulmonary artery. This is a highly specialized procedure.

The term atherectomy is used to describe reconstruction through a catheter.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA