Hi @socapatoy - welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. You've just been given a whole lot of information you may or may not have been prepared for about this 90% blockage.

Waiting for tests and treatment is tough. I sense you'd like to get on with it?

Hoping other members here such as @gloaming @brihug @starfirey2k will have input on what they may have done to protect themselves when they became aware of a blockage but were not yet at treatment. @jenniferhunter also may have some thoughts for you.

What did your doctor suggest you do in the meantime while you are still undergoing testing, socapatoy?

@socapatoy
Hello Soca. I found I had 100% blockage of my left carotid artery after having a panoramic X-ray at my dentist’s office. I was sent by my nurse practitioner to a vascular surgeon almost immediately. There was nothing to be done about the blockage (would risk allowing plaque to migrate to my brain). So, in addition to maintaining my statins, the surgeon also had me start to take aspirin (81 mg daily). I asked about changing things in my life (I golf, go to the gym 3 times a week, walk on a treadmill almost daily). He said to continue to do all of those (I was particularly concerned about the gym where I lift weights and use resistance machines). And so I just carry on, getting scans of my left carotid artery every six months to monitor that (it’s something like 50- 60% blocked). When (if?) it’s more seriously blocked (70-80%) then surgical intervention is in order I’m told. My only problem with that is that it’s an insurance thing, not a doctor/patient decision, as maybe I’d do it sooner. But you can’t fight city hall unfortunately. I’d ask the doctor what you can do; not sure what your lifestyle is. But my experience is as described above. Good luck.

@socapatoy I am not experiencing a blocked artery, but I have learned some important lessons about being proactive to manage stress and fear about medical conditions. I needed cervical spine surgery and every time I thought about that, I was driving my blood pressure up a lot. I had to find a way to intercept that fear pathway and I did. I started with deep breathing to relaxing music. Singing can help too because it forces you to have a long exhale and that helps relax you. When you start pairing this with peaceful imagery, your mind can take you away to a safe place anytime you need to de-stress. I also asked myself lots of questions and found the source of my learned fear and essentially deprogrammed it. Stress escalates heath issues a lot. My dad was also a heart patient, and I didn’t want that to become my future and it all started to change when I asked myself why I was doing this to myself.