Common carotid artery vertebral artery. The common carotid artery is often used in measuring the pulse,{ especially in patients who are in shock and who lack a detectable pulse in the more peripheral arteries of the body. The pulse is taken by palpating the artery just deep to the anterior border of the sternocleidomastoid muscle at the level of the superior border of the thyroid cartilage. Presence of a carotid pulse has been estimated to indicate a systolic blood pressure of more than 40 mmHg, as given by the 50% percentile. Carotidynia is a syndrome marked by soreness of the carotid artery near
Carotid sinus unstable, predispose to ischemic strokes and transient ischemic attacks, carotid endarterectomies are frequently done for prophylaxis. The carotid sinus can be oversensitive to manual stimulation, a condition known as carotid sinus hypersensitivity, carotid sinus syndrome or carotid sinus syncope, in which manual stimulation causes large changes in heart rate and/or blood pressure. This classically presents as a patient who has "fainted" (actually a presyncope) on several occasions while shaving, or in some other way coming into contact with their carotid sinus. Carotid sinus syndrome is a temporary loss of consciousness that sometimes accompanies convulsive seizures because of the intensity of