Carotid atherosclerosis is responsible for 10-20% of all ischemic strokes and is characterized by a high risk of stroke recurrence, as well as by its preventable nature through the control of vascular risk factors, intensive medical management, and surgical revascularization in cases of severe stenosis. Pivotal studies in the 90’s showed significant benefit of carotid endarterectomy in patients with severe symptomatic carotid stenosis (>70%), whereas the benefit in patients with moderate stenosis (50-69%) and those with asymptomatic disease was modest. Active areas of research in the field include the identification of novel non-traditional risk factors directed to the early diagnosis and primary prevention of carotid atherosclerosis, the efficacy of intensive medical management to decrease to the risk of stroke among patients with asymptomatic disease, and the development of new surgical revascularization techniques with lower complication rates. Through this revision manuscript we aim to summarize the current knowledge on carotid atherosclerosis and expose a practical approach for its diagnosis and treatment.
carotid stenosis
Parálisis Facial Secundaria a Arteritis de la Arteria Carótida Interna en Paciente Escolar. Facial Palsy Secondary To Arteritis Of The Internal Carotid Artery In A School Patient
Facial palsy can be secondary to multiple etiologies such as infectious, traumatic, neoplastic, metabolic and neurological; with resolution in most cases. It has an incidence of between 11.5 and 40.2 cases per 100,000 people/year including adult and pediatric patients. We present the case of a 9-year-old patient who consulted for facial paralysis in whom a diagnosis of stenosis of the internal carotid artery was made, with subsequent symptomatic improvement with specific treatment.
