No, do not worry. It is very common for people to have a velocity of 125 cm/sec and to have even less true stenosis than the range that they put you in. Younger people have normally higher velocities than older people (>50 years old) due to vessel compliance and elasticity. The higher the velocity in senior citizens relates to a higher degree of stenosis. But carotid Dopplers are not the most accurate exam, it is simply the easiest, safest, and cheapest. CT Angiogram is the next most accurate (in my opinion) and Digital Subtraction Angiogram is the gold standard (best). Personally, I don't like Magnetic Resonance Angiography because the images can be hazy. When done by a skilled vascular technologist, the results can be in the 90% accuracy range. Surgery would not be considered unless you have symptoms and/or the stenosis is at least 70%. If it blocks completely, they cannot re-open it. You will likely not die from one side blocking off, but more likely have a fairly bad stroke. I would recommend having this test done every six months to a year as things can change in that time.
Hope this helps, take care.
Adam
Hope this helps, take care.
Adam
