Morbid obesity is increasing in prevalence among patients undergoing PCI and is associated with a higher risk of mortality and morbidity. These epidemiological changes have important implications for technical considerations of cardiac catheterization, design of the catheterization lab to accommodate these patients, and most importantly, for societal effort toward prevention of obesity.

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The risk of stroke associated with carotid artery stenosis can be reduced with carotid endarterectomy or carotid artery stenting in carefully selected patients. While surgery has been the traditional treatment there have been many trials comparing carotid endarterectomy with carotid artery stenting, and stenting has shown promising results for certain patient populations. This article reviews the natural history of carotid artery stenosis, the data supporting carotid endarterectomy, trials directly comparing surgery to stenting, and current recommendations for each modality.