The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 26, Number 8 | Page 15

The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | April 2020
Healthy Living Tips from
Clogged Arteries Can Lead to a Stroke
Most of us know that clogged arteries can lead to a heart attack. They can also lead to a stroke.
A stroke can occur when the carotid artery, which leads from the heart to the brain, gets clogged with plaque buildup.
This plaque can build up slowly and sometimes the first time you discover that you have a problem is when you
experience what is called a TIA, or transient ischemic attack, which is a temporary loss of the blood to the brain,
resulting in a mini stroke.
Symptoms of a TIA can include numbness, weakness, trouble seeing or dizziness, and is temporary. Dr. Kane Chang,
Chief of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at Deborah Heart and Lung Center advises patients not to ignore those
symptoms.
“If you have a TIA, and it is mild, and it passes quickly, you may not even think about it,” he says. “But if you
experience those types of symptoms, you should get it checked out. Plaque could be slowly building up in your
carotid arteries. This could be an early warning sign of a real stroke that can follow.”
What Can You Do?
Dr. Chang notes that some of the other factors that contribute to clogged arteries, like high blood pressure, smoking,
diabetes, cholesterol, obesity and lack of exercise can often be controlled to help reduce plaque buildup.
“You can make a lot of lifestyle changes,” he adds “like exercising, eating right, losing weight, controlling your
diabetes properly and quitting smoking. Sometimes these goals sound hard, but if you tackle them one step at a
time, you’d be amazed at how much better you can feel.”
Dr. Chang says that if a cardiologist sees that your carotids are clogging up, blood thinners can be prescribed, and if
the blockages become too severe, there are surgical options.
“We can perform an endarterectomy procedure which includes a small incision in the neck. Your vascular surgeon
would then go in and remove the plaque. This is a commonly performed procedure with excellent success rates for
clearing out the carotid arteries.”
Dr. Chang recommends that anyone who had symptoms of a TIA get checked out. “It could prevent a major stroke.”
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