Duringsurgery, blood clots that are formed on the catheters sometimes break free and travel to the brain. In such cases blood thinners are required during the procedure to reduce this risk and a stroke can also occur when the plaque in the artery gets dislodged while the catheters are being passed through the blood vessels.
There are also some drawbacks after carotid angioplasty like the carotid arteries can become narrow again after some months which is known as restenosis. To reduce the risk of restenosis new drug-coated stents have been specially developed. Carotid angioplasty is minimally invasive and nonsurgical. The surgeon makes a small incision in the blood vessel and a long flexible catheter with a tiny delated balloon will be passed into the carotid artery in the neck to diffuse the blood clots or remove blockages. A mesh known as stent is placed there to prevent formation of plaque and after the surgery blood flow is increased in the blocked artery and reduces the risk of stroke.
Carotid angioplasty is a newer method than traditional carotid surgery, follow-ups are needed after the surgery. Lifestyle changes are also recommended by doctors; like not smoking,exercising,maintaining diet and weight control,keeping cholesterol,diabetes and triglyceride levels low so the need to do angioplasty becomes null.