Extracranial vertebral artery intervention.

Atherosclerosis is the commonest cause of vertebral artery stenosis and has a predilection for the origin and proximal section of the extracranial portion of the vessel and also the intracranial portion of the vessel. Although it has generally been thought that extracranial vertebral artery (ECVA) disease has a more benign outcome compared to intracranial vertebral artery disease, significant occlusive disease of the proximal vertebral artery is the primary cause of vertebral artery ischemia in a significant proportion of patients. We focus on the interventional management of patients with proximal ECVA disease in this article.