Patent ID: 8157760

Claim:
A method for accessing and treating a carotid artery, comprising: forming a transcervical incision in a neck of a patient; forming a penetration in a wall of a common carotid artery via the transcervical incision, the penetration being located at distance of around 5 cm to 7 cm below a bifurcation location where the patient's common carotid artery bifurcates into an internal carotid artery and external carotid artery; positioning an arterial access sheath through the transcervical incision and the penetration, wherein the arterial access sheath has a working length of 5 cm to 15 cm; inserting no more than the working length of the arterial access sheath into the common carotid artery; blocking blood flow from the common carotid artery past the sheath; allowing retrograde blood flow from the internal carotid artery into the sheath and into a shunt from the sheath while the common carotid artery remains blocked; and adjusting the state of retrograde blood flow through the shunt.