Need to know what suspected atherosclerotic involvement of the carotid bifurcations means in laymans terms please.

Atherosclerosis : Means thickening and hardening of the arteries. The carotid bifurcation is where the common carotid splits into the internal carotid artery and external carotid artery. So there is thickening and hardening of the carotid where it splits. Factors that contribute to this is smoking, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, and others.

Reduced circulation: Arteriosclerosis of the carotid bifurcation means the blood vessels to the involved side of the brain is reduced by plaques inside the vessel that reduce blood supply. Even with no symptoms it probably is a good idea to have it evaluated by by duplex scanning. If the narrowing of the blood vessels is not too bad, the doctor will use this as a baseline to compare with in the future.

Calcium build-up: Hardening of the arteries in the carotids.

Time for a change. : This means that atherosclerosis has begun to form in your carotid arteries. It usually begins at the branching or bifurcation of the common carotid artery into the internal and external carotid arteries. Internal carotid supplies flow to the brain. See stroke.Com and talk to your doctor about decreasing your risk of stroke. No smoking. Control BP and blood sugar. May need a statin and aspirin.