CT Scans

[Lawrence78]

Hello. I had a CT coronary angio scan about 7 months ago to check for general blockages (suspected angina) but everything came back all clear. In the paperwork I got back it also told me about other things they found such as my throat being slightly patulous.

So I was wondering, seeing as they found that issue in my throat, would a CT coronary angio scan show possible blockages in arteries in the neck?

Also, if the two arteries in your neck did have blockages, would you get ongoing symptoms over time as it can be with your heart/chest (angina)? Or would it be a case of getting very serious symptoms quickly?

Lastly, if you don't have any blockages in your heart/chest area, would that mean you're more likely to not have blockages in the neck arteries? Does it work like that or are your arteries very different from each other?

[ootihat]

I don't know if the CT scan would show blockages in the neck. I had a private carotid ultrasound scan. The carotids are near the neck surface and a simple ultrasound can see plaques in them.

The reason I did this is because I'd read in more than one place that the carotids, especially where they split into two, give a pretty good idea of the state of the arteries in general. One research paper used carotid ultrasound results as a marker for atherosclerosis.

In other words, papers say that carotid plaques go with plaques elsewhere. So the reverse is very possibly true.

I don't want to give uninformed advice but what I read seemed clear. Maybe others can advise.

[Lawrence78 in reply to ootihat]

Thanks for the reply. To be honest if they think the neck arteries give an indicator of all your other arteries, then I would imagine if all my other (chest/heart) arteries are (currently) clear after a proper CT angiogram then I would of thought my neck arteries would be okay 🤷‍♂️ Seems sensible right?

I agree that the CT angio probably doesn't go as far as to cover the neck but they did give me info about my throat which did surprise me at the time because obviously that's nowhere near my heart pipework 😊

[Milkfairy Heart Star]

You can have angina without blocked coronary arteries.

Are you still having symptoms?

[Lawrence78 in reply to Milkfairy]

Yes I have read that which was kinda disappointing to be honest.

As for my symptoms, they have actually faded away almost completely, bizarrely. Although it can still briefly occur once in a while. That isn't the issue, I've been getting a moving headache and back of the neck pain issue that has been ongoing, off and on, for around 3 yrs and I read that one issue could be possible blockages in the neck arteries 🤷‍♂️ So that combined with my chest issues last yr I was maybe thinking (worrying) about my neck 😖 I know it could be a lot of things but it was just a connection between the two.