SUBCLAVIAN STEAL SYNDROME

Subclavian steal syndrome, also called subclavian steal phenomenon or subclavian steal steno-occlusive disease, manifest in signs and symptoms that arise from retrograde (backward) flow of blood in the vertebral artery or the internal thoracic artery, due to a proximal stenosis (narrowing of the blood vessel) and/or occlusion (blockage) of the subclavian artery. The arm may be supplied by blood flowing in a retrograde (reverse) direction down the vertebral artery at the expense of the vertebrobasilar circulation. This is called the subclavian steal.