The Surgeon

Carotid artery stenting is an effective option for high risk patients who are not eligible for surgery, according to a long-term study published in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine. Carotid artery disease, which involves clogging of the arteries in the neck that provide blood to the brain, is a significant risk factor for stroke, making these study results important for the estimated 200,000 Americans each year who would otherwise not be candidates for the treatment.
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As vascular specialists, interventional radiologists see first hand the damage that smoking causes to the arteries (10 million Americans suffer from hardening of the arteries in the legs) and the accompanying leg pain that many smokers suffer. While most people are aware of the cancer risk from smoking, health experts indicate few realize the damage it causes throughout the body’s vascular system. Smoking damages the blood vessels and smokers are at risk for all vascular diseases including peripheral vascular disease (PVD), stroke, heart attack, abdominal aortic aneurysm and subsequent death. This year during the Great American Smokeout , the Society of Interventional Radiology is urging smokers to quit.