More and more middle-aged people have carotid plaque during physical examination. The problems of this seemingly elderly talent have gradually become younger. When plaque is found, people will associate it with vascular obstruction and cerebral infarction... So, is it really so terrible to find carotid plaque? Is there any therapeutic intervention? What situations need special attention? Today, Professor Liu Jingyou, Director of the Department of Neurology of the People's Hospital of Peking University, explains the health problems caused by carotid plaque in detail. Beware of carotid stenosis. Before we talk about carotid plaque, let's know the location of the carotid artery. The carotid artery, as its name implies, is the artery located in the neck. On the side of the neck, there is a main branch of the carotid artery (common carotid artery) on the left and right, which goes up from the neck to the head and is divided into internal carotid artery and external carotid artery. The carotid artery transports blood from the heart to the head, face and neck, and is one of the main blood vessels for the brain. Its main function is to provide fresh blood and oxygen for the brain and maintain its normal operation. Speaking of carotid pulsation, we are no strangers, and it is an important judgment basis in emergency treatment. In the outpatient department of neurology, many patients with the "carotid plaque" checklist will be encountered every day. People often ask the doctor: Is this very serious? Once it is blocked, I will have cerebral infarction, right? My grandma died of a massive cerebral infarction. Will I? My memory is getting worse. Is it related to it? I often have dizziness and headache, can't it be caused by it? Is this plaque caused by my "three highs"? It's just a small plaque, isn't it a big deal? ... Many people with plaque found in physical examination are anxious and worried about it. Professor Liu Jingxin reminded: Don't panic when finding carotid stenosis, but you should not "let it go". You'd better go to the hospital to see an expert. In particular, if there are elderly people in the family, such as "people become confused when they are old", such as sitting on the sofa watching TV, they will fall asleep after watching for a while; Often insomnia, memory is not as good as before; Chopsticks often fall to the ground when eating; There are often black dizziness in front of you... Be alert to carotid stenosis caused by plaque. Blocked plaque is the carotid plaque formed in this way, which refers to the atherosclerosis of the carotid artery, which is prone to occur at the bifurcation of the common carotid artery and the initial segment of the internal carotid artery, and is more common in middle-aged and elderly people. To clarify atherosclerosis, let's first know the artery. The artery is composed of three layers, including the inner membrane, the middle membrane and the outer membrane. It is responsible for transporting the blood in the heart to all parts of the body. Its blood oxygen content is high, providing oxygen for the body tissues and organs. In youth, the elasticity of arteries is very good. However, with the increase of age, in addition to the bad living habits such as hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and smoking, the pathological changes usually begin to appear in the intima of the artery, such as lipid deposition, hemorrhage, thrombosis, fibrous tissue hyperplasia and calcium deposition, which cause the middle layer of the artery to degenerate and calcified, the arterial wall to show chronic inflammation of varying degrees, thickening and hardening, forming plaque, and causing stenosis of the arterial lumen, This is the general process of atherosclerosis and plaque formation. Professor Liu Jingjing introduced: atherosclerosis/plaque, which