Surgery unnecessary for 95 percent of those with asymptomatic carotid stenosis
Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 05:14
in Health & Medicine
Research led by Dr. David Spence of Robarts Research Institute at The University of Western Ontario shows that with more intensive medical therapy, the risk of stroke has become so low that at least 95 per cent of patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis (ACS) would be better off with medical therapy than with surgery or stenting. ACS is a narrowing in the carotid artery, which supplies blood to the brain, which has not yet resulted in a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). In the United States, one-half to two-thirds of the patients being subjected to surgery for revascularization are asymptomatic.