Question 2
A 65 year-old patient (who has recently been prescribed a statin to lower his cholesterol level) had a brief episode (just 3-4 minutes) in which the vision in his left eye became cloudy and blurry. He told his primary care doctor about it on his next office visit. Among other things, his doctor decided to order some tests on the carotid arteries in the patient's neck.
Which of the carotid arteries is the physician most immediately concerned about - the left one or the right one? Would this conscientious doctor press to have the tests done in the next 1-2 days, or is the next 2 weeks soon enough?
Explain your answer briefly.
Answer to Question 2
The doctor is immediately concerned about the left carotid artery, whose ophthalmic branch supplies the left retina. The doctor actually arranged for the tests to be done the very next day because he was concerned that this episode was a TIA. He knew that in this 65 year-old patient the most likely cause of transient monocular blindness was an embolus shed from an unstable atherosclerotic plaque at or near the carotid bifurcation.