A Pujia1, P Rubba, M P Spencer. 1. Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School of Catanzaro, University of Reggio Calabria, Italy.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Little information is available on extracranial carotid artery disease in free-living elderly individuals. We sought to evaluate the prevalence of carotid lesions in the elderly. METHODS: Using echo-Doppler, we assessed the prevalence of possible atherosclerotic lesions in the internal carotid arteries (n = 478) and the external and common carotid arteries (n = 956) of 239 subjects 65-94 years of age living in retirement homes in Seattle, Wash. RESULTS: We found that 152 (31.8%) internal carotid arteries were affected by nonstenosing plaque and 37 arteries (7.7%) had stenosis or occlusion. In addition, 193 (20.2%) external or common carotid arteries showed nonstenosing plaques. There were 128 subjects (53.6%) with internal carotid disease, 106 (44.3%) with evidence of external or common carotid disease, and 75 (31.4%) affected by disease in all three sites. There were 80 subjects (33.5%) with no ultrasound evidence of carotid disease. We found that the presence and severity of carotid disease increased between the decades 65-74 and 75-84. We also demonstrated a positive association between systolic blood pressure and ultrasound evidence of carotid disease that was independent of age. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of extracranial artery disease in an apparently healthy population was high, although stenoses in most instances were not severe. We conclude that noninvasive ultrasound methods identify a relatively small fraction of individuals (5% of the total) at high risk for stroke or transient ischemic attack. Echo-Doppler might be used to monitor further disease progression and to evaluate the efficacy of different therapeutic or preventive interventions.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Little information is available on extracranial carotid artery disease in free-living elderly individuals. We sought to evaluate the prevalence of carotid lesions in the elderly. METHODS: Using echo-Doppler, we assessed the prevalence of possible atherosclerotic lesions in the internal carotid arteries (n = 478) and the external and common carotid arteries (n = 956) of 239 subjects 65-94 years of age living in retirement homes in Seattle, Wash. RESULTS: We found that 152 (31.8%) internal carotid arteries were affected by nonstenosing plaque and 37 arteries (7.7%) had stenosis or occlusion. In addition, 193 (20.2%) external or common carotid arteries showed nonstenosing plaques. There were 128 subjects (53.6%) with internal carotid disease, 106 (44.3%) with evidence of external or common carotid disease, and 75 (31.4%) affected by disease in all three sites. There were 80 subjects (33.5%) with no ultrasound evidence of carotid disease. We found that the presence and severity of carotid disease increased between the decades 65-74 and 75-84. We also demonstrated a positive association between systolic blood pressure and ultrasound evidence of carotid disease that was independent of age. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of extracranial artery disease in an apparently healthy population was high, although stenoses in most instances were not severe. We conclude that noninvasive ultrasound methods identify a relatively small fraction of individuals (5% of the total) at high risk for stroke or transient ischemic attack. Echo-Doppler might be used to monitor further disease progression and to evaluate the efficacy of different therapeutic or preventive interventions.
Authors: Véronique L Roger; Alan S Go; Donald M Lloyd-Jones; Robert J Adams; Jarett D Berry; Todd M Brown; Mercedes R Carnethon; Shifan Dai; Giovanni de Simone; Earl S Ford; Caroline S Fox; Heather J Fullerton; Cathleen Gillespie; Kurt J Greenlund; Susan M Hailpern; John A Heit; P Michael Ho; Virginia J Howard; Brett M Kissela; Steven J Kittner; Daniel T Lackland; Judith H Lichtman; Lynda D Lisabeth; Diane M Makuc; Gregory M Marcus; Ariane Marelli; David B Matchar; Mary M McDermott; James B Meigs; Claudia S Moy; Dariush Mozaffarian; Michael E Mussolino; Graham Nichol; Nina P Paynter; Wayne D Rosamond; Paul D Sorlie; Randall S Stafford; Tanya N Turan; Melanie B Turner; Nathan D Wong; Judith Wylie-Rosett Journal: Circulation Date: 2010-12-15 Impact factor: 29.690
Authors: D C Suh; J L Kim; E H Kim; J K Kim; J-H Shin; D H Hyun; H Y Lee; D H Lee; J S Kim Journal: AJNR Am J Neuroradiol Date: 2012-01-19 Impact factor: 3.825
Authors: S-T Park; J K Kim; K H Yoon; S-O Park; S W Park; J S Kim; S J Kim; D C Suh Journal: AJNR Am J Neuroradiol Date: 2010-01-21 Impact factor: 3.825