A carotid bruit is a systolic sound heard over the carotid artery area during auscultation.

A carotid bruit is unlikely to be heard if the stenosis occludes less than 40% of the diameter of the artery.

There was no carotidynia (a neck pain syndrome associated with tenderness to palpation over the carotid bifurcation) or carotid bruit.

The presence of a carotid bruit alone does not necessarily indicate the presence of stenosis, and the physical examination cannot be used to estimate the degree of stenosis, if present; therefore, any bruit must be evaluated by ultrasound or imaging.