Clogged arteries toward the neck doctor said if she has surgery its a 40% changes no stroke what do we do?

My grandmother went in for another check up yesterday... Her doctors have been scheduling her to come in. She needed a cat-scan to figure out how badly her arteries in her neck where clogged up. The numbers are: 70& clogged up on her left side and 90% clogged up on the right.. The doctor told us that she has to have surgery but that it's very risky. That she has only a 40% chance she makes it out with no stroke.. We dont know what to do... Please if anyone has an opinion or can help please write back to me.. Thank you for your time...

The surgery is called Carotid Endarterectomy.
Your grandmother carotid arteries are located on each side of her neck and are the main arteries supplying blood to grandmother brain. They're particularly important because they carry blood to the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for most of grandmother day-to-day functioning. When atherosclerosis affects these vessels, it's called carotid artery disease. It's the equivalent of coronary artery disease 鈥?atherosclerosis affecting the heart arteries, just the location of the disease is different.

Many people with carotid artery disease take medications such as aspirin, blood thinners, and cholesterol-lowering drugs to keep atherosclerosis under control, and to prevent heart attack and stroke. But for some people, medications aren't enough. When an artery becomes significantly blocked, usually 70 percent blocked or more, surgery may be recommended. The most common surgery for carotid artery disease is called carotid endarterectomy, when atherosclerosis plaques are surgically removed from the carotid artery in the neck. However, a newer, less invasive procedure, carotid angioplasty, and stenting, can be used in certain cases.

Carotid endarterectomy is a safe and durable treatment that has been shown to prevent stroke. Endarterectomy is the most commonly performed vascular surgery procedure. When experienced, competent surgeons perform the procedure; its risks and benefits are well known for people with or without transient ischemic attack (TIA) symptoms.

Although carotid endarterectomy is effective in reducing the likelihood of future strokes, there is a risk of serious complications such as stroke during the procedure. This risk can range between one and three percent. Risks of surgery depend on your grandmother age, your grandmother overall health, the skill and experience of the surgeon, and the experience of the doctors at the medical center where the surgery will be done.

A new study shows that taking statin medicines before surgery may reduce some of the risks. People in the study who had taken a statin for at least a week before surgery were much less likely to have a stroke or die than those who did not take a statin.Suggest this to your doctor.

I wish that your grandmother Carotid Endarterectomy would 100% successful.Ciao Lina!
Take care as always!

Ok, by trying to rectify the arteriosclerosis, they may cause a thrombus to enter the brain and cause a cerebral infarction, this is true. In lay-man terms, by trying to clean the arteries they may cause a clot to enter the bloodstream and cause a clog in the brain. This will stop blood getting to part of the brain and may cause a stroke. However, if your grandmother does not have this operation there is still a very high chance she will have a stroke anyway due to the clogging.
These are things you must take into consideration before deciding anyway. How old is the patient? Surgery mortality rates are much higher the older you get especially with the threat of infection. How does she feel about it? Does she even want this surgery? She may spend a considerable amount of time recovering in hospital which can impact on her quality of life. What is her quality of life now? Is her health affected by the clogging of the arteries? Is it affected by the threat of a stroke? Will this improve her life?

Don't hold me to this but she is probably more likely to have a stroke if she does not have the surgery as well as other medical problems. Consider all the options, surgery doesn't mean a simple operation for many older people. Often it is a life-changing event and it takes a lot of time to recover.

Good luck, you will do the right thing in the end.