Stents and Surgery for Blocked Neck Arteries Are Neck-And-Neck as Lasting Stroke Prevention

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND MEDICAL CENTER

A new comparison of the procedures to help prevent strokes by removing or relieving blockages in the arteries of the neck concludes they are equally effective at halting repeat blockage. Two years after treatment with either surgery or a minimally invasive treatment using wire coils called stents, the re-blockage rate remained the same, approximately six percent. “This was a huge surprise,” says Brajesh K. Lal, M.D., lead author and associate professor of vascular surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. The carotid arteries on each side of the neck supply blood to the brain. Fatty material called plaque can partially or totally block blood flow through the arteries to the brain, which can result in a stroke. Carotid artery blockages cause about 10 percent of strokes. Surgery or stenting preserves blood flow and lowers the risk of stroke. Learn more at http://bit.ly/Ak4YcV