Patient description: A 46-year-old man presents with dizziness and frequent headaches. He has a family history of CAD, but no other cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, and diabetes mellitus and is physically active. The patient's LDL-C and HDL-C levels were 545 and 53 mg/dL, respectively. His fasting glucose and triglyceride levels (85 and 158 mg/dL, resp.) were within normal limits. The patient reported no use of lipid-lowering medications. Neck auscultation revealed a systolic murmur 3+/6+ in the neck, radiating to the skull. Ultrasonography of the carotid arteries, revealed severe stenosis in the left internal carotid artery (LICA), as well as moderate stenosis in the right internal carotid artery (RICA) estimated between 40% and 50%. For the LICA, the peak-systolic (PSV) and end-diastolic velocity (EDV) cutoff values were 208.5 cm/s and 54.5 cm/s, respectively; RICA PSV was 91.72 cm/s and RICA EDV was 37.37 cm/s. Plaque was observed in the anterior and posterior walls of the internal carotid artery and common carotid artery, which were characterized as bulky plates extending to the middle third of the internal coronary arteries (ICAs) and as predominantly echogenic and hyperechoic, with less than 50% of the area being echolucent with uneven surfaces.

Clinical trial eligibility criteria: eligible ages (years): 18.0-999.0,  Carotid Artery Diseases Carotid Atherosclerosis Carotid Stenosis Carotid Artery Plaque Carotid Disease Stenosis must be >50% as determined by ultrasound or angiogram1 and the patient has a history of stroke (minor or non-disabling; NIHSS ≤4 or mRS ≤2), TIA and/or amaurosis fugax within 180 days of the procedure ipsilateral to the carotid artery to be stented Stenosis must be >80% as determined by ultrasound or angiogram without any neurological symptoms within the prior 180 days Target vessel must meet diameter requirements for stent (refer to stent IFU for diameter requirements) Patient has a discrete lesion located in the internal carotid artery (ICA) with or without involvement of the contiguous common carotid artery (CCA) Patient is willing to comply with the protocol requirements and return to the treatment center for all required clinical evaluations Patient must have a life expectancy ≥ 3 years at the time of the index procedure without contingencies related to other medical, surgical or endovascular intervention Patient meets at least one of the surgical high-risk listed in CMS National Coverage Determination (NCD) for Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty (20.7)  Alternative source of cerebral embolus Patient has chronic atrial fibrillation Patient has had any episode of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation within the past 6 months, or history of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation requiring chronic anticoagulation Knowledge of cardiac sources of emboli. e.g. left ventricular aneurysm, intracardiac filling defect, cardiomyopathy, aortic or mitral prosthetic heart valve, calcific aortic stenosis, endocarditis, mitral stenosis, atrial septal defect, atrial septal aneurysm, or left atrial myxoma) Recently (<60 days) implanted heart valve (either surgically or endovascularly), which is a known source of emboli as confirmed on echocardiogram Abnormal angiographic findings: ipsilateral intracranial or extracranial arterial stenosis (as determined by angiography or CTA/MRA ≤ 6 months prior to index procedure) greater in severity than the lesion to be treated, cerebral aneurysm > 5 mm, AVM (arteriovenous malformation) of the cerebral vasculature, or other abnormal angiographic findings Patient has a history of spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage within the past 12 months, or has had a recent (<7 days) stroke of sufficient size (on CT or MRI) to place him or her at risk of hemorrhagic conversion during the procedure (less than one-third middle cerebral artery volume) Patient had hemorrhagic transformation of an ischemic stroke within the past 60 days Patient with a history of major stroke attributable to either carotid artery (CVA or retinal embolus) with major neurological deficit (NIHSS ≥ 5 OR mRS ≥ 3) likely to confound study endpoints within 1 month of index procedure Patient has an evolving stroke