Carotid artery disease (CAD) or carotid artery stenosis is the pathological narrowing of the extracranial carotid artery caused by atherosclerosis plaques (1).
The area most commonly affected by atherosclerosis is the bifurcation of the common carotid artery. Next most common site is the vertebral arteries. Rarely, the orifices of the great vessels become obstructed where they leave the aortic arch (1,2).
Prevalence of carotid stenosis is slightly higher in men than in women. The Nothern Manhattan study has reported that blacks and Hispanics had more strokes than whites with carotid artery stenosis (2).
Reference:
Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.