Submitted by Dr T on November 28, 2010 – 4:30pm
This one of those situation where a one minute exam could provide you with an answer I now have to guess at. Feeling the pulse in your neck and listening there with my stethoscope would do just that! If you are older & at risk for atherosclerosis and blockages in your arteries and I also couldn’t feel your pulse and/or heard a noise in the artery I’d tell you the blood flow might be impaired and needs to be examined with a Doppler ultrasound study.
I would also check your cholesterol and other risk factors, and look for evidence of heart disease. If you were found to have a severe blockage in that artery, an operation might be adviced, but first we’d want to make sure your heart is OK. You can see how quickly this becomes a complicated answer!
This is where you can read about this:
https://www.cardiachealth.org/heart-information/your-cholesterol
https://www.cardiachealth.org/heart-information/atherosclerosis
https://www.cardiachealth.org/heart-information/hypertension
https://www.cardiachealth.org/heart-information/coronary-artery-disease
Women have sometimes atypical symptoms:
https://www.cardiachealth.org/heart-information/coronary-artery-disease
Your risks for heart disease:
https://www.cardiachealth.org/app/risk-assessment.php
Since these are all unknowns, I hope this helps,
Dr T
https://www.cardiachealth.org/