About the Heart & Vascular Center

Dr Bruce Elliott, vascular surgeon

Clogged arteries can lead to life-threatening strokes and debilitating mobility problems. Often people do not realize they have potentially dangerous vascular disease until symptoms occur. Weakness on one side, numbness in an arm, leg or one side of the face, as well as temporary blindness in one eye are all signs of a narrowing in the carotid artery. This condition can cause stroke, and since some stroke victims never experience symptoms, screening for carotid artery disease is very important. This simple, inexpensive examination is recommended for people over age 60 to 65 as well as for people who smoke or have high cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension or a family history of stroke.

MUSC offers the full spectrum of services for detection, monitoring and treatment of circulatory disorders. The focus is on non-invasive and minimally invasive procedures, such as cardiac scoring, to detect and prevent vascular disease problems. Often a patient can be treated solely by medication, such as aspirin. If further treatment is necessary, our vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists work closely together with each patient to choose the best option. Depending on a patient’s age and condition, the best way to clear a clogged artery might be either vascular surgery or a catheter-based procedure performed by an interventional radiologist.

Both vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists treat circulatory problems including:

arteriosclerosis,
aneurysms
carotid stenosis, and
venous disorders, such as:
     swollen legs and varicose veins.

MUSC vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists have played key roles in refining safe and effective cutting-edge vascular surgery procedures and technologies for treating vascular disorders. For instance, MUSC was the first hospital in South Carolina to offer the abdominal aortic stent graft, an alternative treatment to traditional surgery for aortic aneurysms.

For more information, click on the vascular condition above and you’ll be linked to our Heart Health Library.