Extracranial Carotid Artery Aneurysm: Symptoms, Treatment
Overview
Extracranial carotid artery aneurysm refers to a bulge or balloon in the wall of one of your carotid arteries. Carotid arteries are two main blood vessels on either side of your neck that carry oxygen to your brain. Extracranial carotid artery aneurysm is an uncommon condition that occurs in the weak point of the artery wall.
The aneurysm may grow gradually and thicken the artery wall, leading to a rupture of the artery in severe cases. Luckily, the extracranial carotid artery aneurysms seldom rupture. However, the blood clot forming in them may break and block blood flow to your brain.
Older aged people should pay more attention to this disease, because when aneurysms or blood clots in them rupture, more obvious and dangerous life-threatening symptoms may occur.
Cause & Risk Factors
Why an aneurysm forms in the carotid arteries is still unclear. They often develop in the weak or thick points in the arteries. Risk factors that may weaken your artery wall include:
- Older age
- Smoking
- Atherosclerosis
- High blood pressure
- Connective tissue disorders
- A family history of aneurysms
Symptoms
When the aneurysm in the carotid artery is not large, extracranial carotid artery aneurysms don’t always trigger symptoms. But if they grow large enough, you can experience signs and symptoms like:
- Difficulty swallowing
- Facial swelling
- A hoarse voice
- Severe headache
- A stroke or a transient ischemic attack (TIA) when the blood clots break away
- Vision problems, such as blurred or double vision, chronically dilated pupils, as well as pain above and behind the eyes
Diagnosis
To diagnose an extracranial carotid artery aneurysm, your doctor will perform a physical exam and ask about the symptoms you have. Other imaging tests that can help the doctor confirm the diagnosis include:
- Angiography
- CT scan (computed tomography)
- Echocardiography (ultrasound testing)
- MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
Treatment
The aims of treating extracranial carotid artery aneurysm are to reduce symptoms and the risk of life-threatening complications. Each patient will be examined, and treatment will be tailored based on the patient’s conditions. If the aneurysm is small and does not trigger any symptoms, no specific treatment is needed other than regular physical exams and imaging tests to check for signs of changes.
In other cases, treatment options that may be helpful include:
- Surgical repair
This is the mainstay of treating extracranial carotid artery aneurysm. First, the doctor will resect the portion of the carotid artery involved with the aneurysm. Then, a bypass is performed from the normal artery below the aneurysm to the normal artery above the aneurysm.
- Endovascular stent grafting
Your surgeon will enter through a puncture in one of the arteries in your groin, using catheters to guide and deliver a stent-graft through the blood vessels to the site of the aneurysm. The graft is then expanded inside the artery and held in place with metallic hooks.
- Medications
If you have high blood pressure, your physician may prescribe blood pressure medication to lower your overall blood pressure. Additionally, your physician may prescribe a statin (or cholesterol-lowering medication) to maintain the health of your blood vessels. Besides, thrombolysis may be used to eliminate clots that block blood flow.
Keyword: extracranial carotid artery aneurysm.
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