A leading cause of stroke can now be prevented with a groundbreaking procedure offered at Doylestown Hospital - carotid artery stenting.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the top cause of disability in the United States. And, as the population ages, it's becoming more common. About 80 percent of first-ever strokes are caused by the sudden cessation of blood flow to a part of the brain. This is called an ischemic stroke, usually caused by a build-up of fatty plaque in the arteries, especially the carotid arteries, located on either side of the neck and leading from the chest to the brain.

"A substantial number of strokes can be prevented by early identification and treatment of carotid artery disease," says Doylestown Hospital interventional cardiologist Joseph McGarvey, Jr., MD.

Until recently, the most common treatment for blockage of the carotid arteries was a surgical procedure called carotid endarterectomy. But many patients are considered poor candidates for this surgery because of other medical concerns. Fortunately, these patients now have another option: carotid stenting, a minimally invasive procedure recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration to relieve severe carotid artery blockage in high risk patients.

"Carotid stenting is an important advance," says Dr. McGarvey. He explains that stenting is recommended for high-risk patients with a blockage of 80 percent or more in their carotid arteries or who have had symptoms of a stroke, including facial weakness, visual abnormalities, weakness in one side of the body, impairment affecting language, and vision loss or a condition that obscures the vision in one eye temporarily.

A quick procedure that has you back home in a day Carotid artery stenting is similar to coronary angioplasty and stenting. It is performed in a catheterization lab, takes one to two hours, does not involve general anesthesia, and requires only an overnight hospital stay.

The interventionalist locates the blocked area and inserts a catheter with an attached balloon and stent into a tiny incision in a leg artery. He guides this up through the body into the blocked carotid artery. The balloon is inflated and deflated to flatten the plaque. When the catheter and balloon are removed, the stent, a slender, metal mesh tube, remains imbedded in the artery wall to keep it open.

The stent limits restenosis, or the renarrowing of the artery. But stenting cannot stop the buildup of new plaque, so follow your doctor's advice about lowering cholesterol and blood pressure.

"Once a stroke is completed, little can be done to reverse brain injury," explains Dr. McGarvey. "The best treatment is still prevention. For patients with artery disease, that means reducing risk factors."