16.5M Americans at risk of stroke from exercising too hard: study

The stroke isn't caused by blocked carotid arteries, it's caused by rupturing the plaque and sending clots to your brain. So you need to know the stability of your plaque. 

This might be the answer: calcified plaque

A better way to predict heart attacks and strokes in space  August 2018

What is your doctor doing to clear that plaque?  Stenting doesn't clear anything.

Do you want the lawnmower?
Lawnmower For Clogged Arteries
Or Drano? I would be worried about this, sloughing off chunks
Drano For Clogged Arteries
Or conventional?
9 Complications With Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

Or this?

Israeli study uses gold particles to ‘seek and destroy’ artery blockages

But I'd rather my doctor told me how much watermelon juice to drink.

Watermelon juice reverses hardening of the arteries  Nov. 2011

I'm not medically trained so nothing here should be brought to your doctor's attention because they being completely up-to-date will already know about it.

The latest here:

16.5M Americans at risk of stroke from exercising too hard: study

Push it — but not too hard.

Nearly 16.5 million Americans are at risk of stroke from exercising too hard, a new study found.

Published in the scientific journal Physics of Fluid, researchers concluded that an elevated heart rate can induce a stroke in those with blocked carotid arteries.

Carotid arteries are located on both sides of the neck and provide blood flow to the face and the brain.

But when fat and cholesterol build up, they form a plaque that narrows the artery, a process called stenosis. Stenosis can be very difficult to detect early on and is dangerous because it limits blood flow to the brain, which can lead to a stroke.

An estimated 16.5 million (5%) Americans are estimated to experience carotid artery stenosis, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Those who smoke, are obese, live a sedentary lifestyle and have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes are more likely to suffer from carotid artery stenosis. It can also develop with age.

A recent study found that the 16.5 million Americans who suffer from carotid artery stenosis are at risk of stroke from exercising too hard.

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Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur concluded that an elevated heart rate can induce a stroke in those with blocked carotid arteries.

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Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur used a computational model to simulate blood flow in carotid arteries at three stages of stenosis: without blockage, with a mild 30% blockage and with a moderate 50% blockage.

They compared the effect of an exercise-induced heart rate at 140 beats per minute, which can be achieved by a brisk walk for some obese people, and resting heart rates of 67 and 100 bpm.

Healthy patients and those with only slightly blocked arteries appeared to have exercise be beneficial for maintaining healthy blood flow.

However, the results for those with moderate to severe blockage were concerning.

“Intense exercise shows adverse effects on patients with moderate or higher stenosis levels,” said author Somnath Roy.

“It substantially increases the shear stress at the stenosis zone, which may cause the stenosis to rupture. This ruptured plaque may then flow to the brain and its blood supply, causing ischemic stroke.”

The researchers concluded that “while stressful exercises may be beneficial for improving the cardiac performance of healthy individuals, the same may bring in extremely adverse consequences … for patients having extensive arterial blockages.”

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