Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) volume, AHRQ

Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is a surgery that removes harmful plaque from the carotid arteries. These two arteries supply your brain with blood and oxygen.

The volume for this measure is reflective of open or traditional CEA that requires an incision in the neck. Open surgeries require larger incisions than those needed for minimally invasive surgeries.  A CEA is a fairly common surgery that requires proficiency.  Higher volume hospitals have been noted to have lower mortality rates.

About this measure

This measure tracks the number of CEA surgeries the hospital performed. The second graph shows a trend over time for this measure.