Symptoms of Carotid Artery Stenosis

Asymptomatic

For most people, especially during the onset of stenosis, you won't suffer from any symptoms of the condition at all. It isn't until the buildup of plaque has greatly reduced the flow of blood to the brain that you usually manifest any signs that there's a problem. However, regular screenings can often detect whether one or both of your carotid arteries have begun to narrow. Your doctor may periodically check the health of these blood vessels when there's a history of the disease in your family, you're suffering from high cholesterol or high blood pressure, or certain lifestyle factors have placed you at a greater risk of stenosis.

When the carotid artery narrows, it's possible to experience the symptom of numbness. This is usually isolated to the right or left side of your body, depending on which blood vessel contains the stenosis. You may begin to suffer from a lack of feeling on one side of the face, along a single arm or within one of your legs. This numbness can often be accompanied by a certain amount of weakness within the affected area of the body.

Another potential symptom of a carotid artery stenosis involves difficulties with your ability to speak. In this situation, you may suddenly find that your speech has become garbled or your words begin to slur. This is a good indication that oxygen and nutrients are being deprived to the brain.

With a stenosis of the carotid artery, you may begin to experience problems in cognition. When this symptom develops, you could have troubles understanding what people are saying to you or you could have difficulty actually communicating with others, such as forgetting words or names of objects.

Sometimes, a narrowing along the carotid artery can cause some problems with your vision. If this were the case, you would most likely suffer from an abrupt loss or reduction in vision. This change in vision is usually isolated to the right or left eye.

When the stenosis is much more severe and blood flow is greatly reduced, you may experience paralysis. And much like the symptom of numbness, this incapacity of movement is usually isolated to only one side of the body, be it your face, arm or leg.