2023-11-30 13:45:00
Is it possible to detect carotid disease before you have symptoms? The case of a patient who received a diagnosis through a routine cardiology consultation demonstrates that timely treatment can prevent strokes caused by carotid pathology.
“If it can be avoided, it is not an accident,” says the popular saying. This is generally true in the case of Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA), an infarction in the blood vessels of the brain with a time window of only three hours to receive effective medical assistance.
However, the case of Cecilia S. (65) is the exception to the rule – as may be the case of other patients who share her diagnosis and her fate. The early detection of a buildup of cholesterol and calcium in the walls of her left carotid artery allowed professionals to intervene in time to avoid one of the most dangerous outcomes: an ischemic stroke.
“I started with a lot of headaches, but they were terrible,” says Cecilia, who more than three years later is recovering from a carotid endarterectomy performed at the Aconcagua Sanatorium, in Córdoba Capital. At that time, to calm her migraines, she took painkillers and sleeping medication, believing that they could be the effect of stress. Today, she believes that the headaches were the first symptom of a much more complex condition.
The first diagnosis, Cecilia believes, was “by chance.” During a routine check-up with her cardiologist, the specialist detected a carotid murmur and ordered a cardiac Doppler ultrasound and an ultrasound of the neck vessels.
Although she believes so, nothing was accidental: a cardiological control and a study indicated in time were what allowed the timely referral to a specialist in peripheral vascular surgery, Dr. Juan Manuel Navarro (MP: 27,678 – ME: 15,026), head of the Aconcagua Peripheral Vascular Surgery Service and president of the Society of Peripheral Vascular and Endovascular Surgery of Córdoba (SocVaPeC).
Health and People addresses fundamental issues about prevention and care.
“We have a high number of patients who consult with carotid pathology at this institution,” explains Navarro. Most of them “are patients who have had symptoms; whether they are transient ischemic attacks or already constituted stroke with a neurological focus. “We do more complex studies and define therapeutic behavior.”
Initially, if the level of artery obstruction is not severe or causing symptoms, the treatment to be followed may be with oral medication (antiplatelet agents or aspirin) and modifying risk factors such as hypertension, smoking or alteration in blood flow. lipid metabolism.
“I had immediate answers: the doctor was wonderful because he was always attentive, he knew how to guide me,” says Cecilia, grateful. After two years of periodic controls, in June 2023 the studies revealed that the percentage of obstruction was already dangerous and required surgical intervention to remove the plaque.
“I lived it with a lot of fear,” confesses Cecilia. “I didn’t make any effort; I really like gardening, cycling, and I stopped everything. I believed that any slightest effort of mine could cause a stroke.”
The surgical intervention – which is performed in less than an hour and does not usually require more than 48 hours of subsequent hospitalization – was finally performed in November.
Today Cecilia, mother of five and grandmother of 10, plans to celebrate the holidays with her family, without feeling that the sword of Damocles hangs over her head. “I can’t complain, because at no time did I have pain in the wound. The recovery has been excellent, and I will continue highlighting the excellent care of the doctor and the entire institution because they have taken care of me very well.”
Carotid atheromatosis is the progressive obstruction of the arteries that carry blood to the brain. When cholesterol and calcium build up on artery walls, they can produce atheromatous plaques that clog the arteries and hinder blood flow.
Atheromatous plaques can develop on the walls of any artery in the body, resulting in ischemia. “This occurs when the muscle demands blood and there is insufficient supply from the blood vessels,” explains Dr. Navarro.
When the failure occurs in the brain, the risk is even greater since, if they do not receive oxygen, the brain neurons begin to die in a few minutes, which can cause disabilities and – in the worst case – the death of the patient.
The first signs of carotid disease can manifest as episodes of transient ischemia, that is, acute crises of hypoxia in the brain tissues that, whether they produce serious consequences or not, should be an indicator for immediate consultation with the doctor. health provider.
The patient should suspect a transient ischemic attack if they notice any of the following symptoms:
• Sudden headache with no apparent cause
• Sudden dizziness or loss of balance
• Sudden difficulty seeing with one or both eyes
• Sudden speech difficulties
• Sudden numbness in the face or extremities.
Carotid disease develops slowly, so it is possible that when the first symptoms appear, the pathology is sufficiently advanced to put the patient’s life at risk. Its early detection is decisive in providing medical treatment and preventing a stroke.
The risk factors for the disease are smoking, hypertension, sedentary lifestyle, diabetes, obesity and alterations in lipid metabolism.
All patients who have these risk factors should consult regularly with their cardiologist to quickly detect any alteration in blood flow.
If your cardiologist detects abnormalities in the blood flow of your carotid arteries, he or she will request a neck Doppler ultrasound to confirm or rule out the presence of plaques in the arterial walls.
Doppler ultrasound is a type of non-invasive study that checks blood flow in blood vessels, bouncing sound waves off the red blood cells that make up the blood and measuring the speed of the echoes that are produced in the process.
This study allows us to detect all types of vascular diseases, such as narrowing of the arteries or the presence of clots, verifying the amount, speed and direction of blood flow.
At Sanatorio Aconcagua it is possible to perform Doppler Ultrasounds of all areas of the body on a scheduled basis by requesting an appointment, or urgently 24 hours a day, every day of the year, through the on-call service located at Rondeau 455 or at Caseros 899, in the city of Córdoba.
The team has six specialists who perform surgeries and remain on call 24 hours a day, all year round.
Doctor Juan Manuel Navarro (MP: 27,678/8 – ME: 15,026). Head of the Peripheral Vascular Surgery Service of the Aconcagua Sanatorium, Specialist in General Surgery and Specialist in Peripheral Vascular Surgery.
Dr. Mariela Valeria Carboni (MP:27.630/6 – ME:11.694). Specialist in General Surgery. Specialist in Phlebology.
Dr. María Fernanda Del Pino (MP:33,806 – ME:19,449). Specialist in Peripheral Vascular Surgery.
Dr. Javier Fuentes (MP: 20,295 – ME: 6,860). Specialist in General Surgery. Specialist in Peripheral Vascular Surgery. Specialist in Emergency Surgery, Trauma and Critical Care.
Dr. Juan Manuel Peruchini (MP: 39,804/2 – ME: 21,350). Specialist in General Surgery.
Dr. Guillermo Nicolás Roussy Otero (MP: 35117/7 – ME: 18,611). Specialist in Peripheral Vascular Surgery.
#key #stroke #prevention #early #diagnosis