What is an occluded left vertebral artery?
Arteries are the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients to organs. The vertebral arteries are two major arteries that carry oxygen to the brain and spinal cord. There are two vertebral arteries, one right and one left. They begin in the chest and travel up along the sides of the vertebrae, the bony segments of the spine.An occluded vertebral artery means that there is a blockage in one of these arteries. Blockages can be partial or complete, and are often given on a percent scale (eg, 75% occluded, 80% occluded, etc.). The size of the blockage can help determine the risk of complications. Complications of blockages are varied and depend on the type of blockage being dealt with. For instance, if the blockage is due to a condition called atherosclerosis (where fatty plaques build up in the arteries), then a major complication is plaque rupture, where a piece of the plaque breaks off and lodges in a small blood vessel of the brain. This condition is called atheroembolism and can cause a stroke.If you have recently been diagnosed with an occluded vertebral artery, you should ask your doctor what the implications are. Only she will know how to best gauge your risk factors for potential complications.
