Stroke Candidate? MRA findings

Dear Ask The Doctor: My Mom got this write-up from an MRA. Can anybody shed some light? Some positive light? She's due to see the Neuro for the first time next Tuesday. Here it is: The MRA of the intracellular arteries demonstrates an aneurysm measuring 5 mm in diameter arising from the paraopthalmic segment of the left internal carotid artery. The lesion projects laterally and posteriorly. Several anatomical variants are seen. In particular. both anterior cerebral arteries arise from the left internal carotid artery, with the presence of a large left Al segment. The right a1 segment is absent. There is bilateral fetal type origin of the posterior cerebral arteries. The right vertebral artery is dominant..............(large and small A"s not an error in my typing B) The MRA angiogram of the neck demonstrates several motion artifacts, which limits the examination. Stenosis at the origin of the right internal carotid artery is suspected, in the category of 70-99% The left common internal and external carotid arteries are patent. Both vertebral arteries are patent. The right one is dominant.

Dear Janet: In the MRA performed to your mother, basically they found 2 things: a 5mm aneurysm, which is a ballooning out of a segment of the left internal carotid artery, this finding may be caused by disease or weakness in the vessel wall. It may lead to rupture and serious bleeding and ultimately to a stroke. The other thing found was a narrowing of the right internal carotid artery between 70-99%, which is severe and probably is limiting the blood flow to the brain on that side. I would suggest that not only the neurosurgeon evaluate your mother but also cardiovascular specialists to determine what treatment options are the best and safer for your mother.