Gene Beasley knew something wasn’t right when he began having trouble speaking. Testing soon revealed why: One of the carotid arteries carrying blood to his brain was 99% blocked, putting him at risk for a potentially devastating stroke.

The carotid arteries supply blood to the brain. When plaque narrows or blocks those arteries, blood flow can be restricted and the risk of stroke can increase. For Beasley, difficulty speaking was one of the first signs that something was wrong.

Thomas “Rett” Reeve IV, MD, a board-certified vascular surgeon with Tanner Vascular Surgery, treated the more severely blocked artery first using transcarotid artery revascularization, or TCAR.

With TCAR, Reeve makes a small incision at the base of the neck to reach the carotid artery and place a stent to restore blood flow. The approach provides a shorter route to the blockage without navigating through the large blood vessels around the heart.

Beasley stayed in the hospital overnight and initially recovered well. About a week later, another warning sign appeared.

“I had a problem with saying the word California to my daughter,” Beasley said.

Beasley went to the emergency department, where an MRI did not show a stroke. But the sudden change in his speech raised concern because Reeve already knew Beasley’s other carotid artery would likely need treatment.

“He actually came back to see me with some concerns that he was maybe having some mini-strokes, potentially from the other side,” Reeve said. “And so that kind of expedited our plan to go ahead and fix the other side, which we did  and he did very well.”

The second artery was also more than 90% blocked. Reeve treated the artery, and Beasley recovered well.

“He fixed that, and I recovered and it saved my life,” Beasley said.

Today, Beasley is back to the life he loves. For him, one word he couldn’t say became the warning sign that something was seriously wrong.

Learn more about Beasley’s story and carotid artery disease at tanner.org/carotid-artery-stenosis.