cartoid artery

[Rab58]

Hi,

i was due to get my by-pass operation next week but at my pre examination last week the doctor heard what she called " a swoosh" from my neck, so i now have to get a scan today to see how bad this is.

i was wondering if anybody had similar and what was the outcome ?

many thanks

[Kristin1812 Heart Star]

Hi. In my case (and this might not be the same for you), I understood that they used an echocardiogram to get a good look at my heart valves. I think it was because they‘d heard a wooshing!

But might be More reliable to ask them?

[Rab58 in reply to Kristin1812]

Hi, thanks for the reply but it is the neck area that they think is a problem as i already have had my heart scanned and i was told by the hospital that the actual pump function of my heart was fine.

they mentioned a possible narrowing of the artery in my neck leading to the brain from the heart that they want to check out first before the heart by pass op.

[PColb01 in reply to Rab58]

Hi Rab58, my dad had this before his valve replacement 12 years ago. The arteries in his neck had to be relined before they would do his heart surgery. The procedure was done under local and he was fine then to have his valve replacement. He is still doing great now at 75 years of age.

Hope this helps and wish you all the best 👍

[Rab58 in reply to PColb01]

Hi, thanks, i had my ultrasound two days ago so am waiting to hear from the hospital now as to whats going to happen

its a bit of a setback when i was ready to go for my op next week then this happened ,

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Hello... Someone I know had this and his bypass was postponed whilst the issue was dealt with. An ultrasound will be used to determine the extent of the problem (this is a routine part of the pre-op where I had my bypass). This may be followed up by CT/MRI scan. Where is is severe they will usually follow up with a CT/MRI brain scan to check for signs of a previous stroke.

Onto treatment. As the carotid arteries are in the neck there are a number of possible treatments. Unlike cardiac arteries they are easily accessible. Sometimes they open and clear the artery/arteries of plaque, other times that will use balloon angioplasty or stents, and occasionally perform a graft.

Don't stress yourself over it as it is a not uncommon issue. The scan will determine if it needs further treatment. With the person I knew it delayed his bypass by (if I remember right) by around a month.

Good luck!

[appledore1]

You will probably have to have an endartectomy. I had one on my right neck cartoid artery which clogged up caused a stroke on my left side face to feet. What they do is take out the artery just below the ear and then clean it out. You can have an anesthetic or none. Up to you. But nothing to worry about. quick and simple.

[valeriep]

Yes, they found my 'swoosh' a few hours after I was admitted for bypass surgery - and promptly discharged me again! My surgeon similarly explained that he wanted more tests to ascertain my condition before operating, as narrowing of the carotid arteries can increase the risk of stroke during bypass surgery. As it turned out, my narrowing was quite severe - 85-90% - together with an artery malformation which my surgeon had never seen before in 19 years of practice! To cut a very long story short, he asked the angiogram dept to have another go at stenting (the first attempt having failed) as the safest option, which was successful, so I dodged bypass surgery. I am still being monitored by the vascular dept, who are reluctant to perform any physical form of intervention - as I have no symptoms, they say the risks would outweigh the benefits - and prefer to control it through drugs. So I'm told I will be taking Clopidogrel and aspirin for life, but the good news is that in the two years they've been monitoring it, the narrowing hasn't deteriorated and at the start of this year, they felt secure enough to decrease the 3-monthly testing to 6-monthly. My specialist has also told me that with my stents installed and my current medication regime, I have no greater risk of stroke than anyone else. This probably sounds very scary, but apparently, my carotid arteries are a medical phenomenon (a claim to fame I'd really rather not possess!) and I know from the lengthy interdepartmental discussions they had on my case, whatever course of action the specialists recommend will be the one they consider to be the safest for you. If you feel like sharing, I'd be interested in hearing how you get on, as I haven't seen a lot of discussion on carotid complications in these parts.