I don't have an answer to that question since it has not gotten that bad with me, (remember that I am confident from testing that any lipid issues do not exist I have low LDL and triglycerides, normal to high HDL), and I have not discussed stenting with the doctors because there are some significant downsides to the procedure - and that is using coated or non coated stents, and balloon work is not permanent. Cells backing up in a narrow passage would on the surface seem like a significant problem, but I wonder, given that you have some major percentage of all the blood vessels in your body that are significantly smaller than even a 50% occluded carotid, how important his comment is. After all, don't the platelets go through those smaller vessels? The question becomes how STICKY are those cells, and what is their tendency to clot or form sticky plaques or hard calcifications on artery interiors walls? So to some extent this comes back to other risk factors (blood lipids and existing plaques, high blood pressure and other cardiac issues) as much as percentage of occlusion.

Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.