title: Spontaneous history of asymptomatic internal carotid occlusion.
abstract: Forty-nine patients with ICA occlusion, who presented without any neurological signs or symptoms, were prospectively followed for an average of 31.2 months. Eight patients (16%) suffered a stroke during follow-up, of which five were within the vascular territory of the occluded artery--5 patients (10%) developed TIAs 4 of which were ipsilateral to the occluded artery. Non-invasive vascular follow-up did not reveal a progression of extracranial arterial disease in the majority of later symptomatic patients. Twenty-three patients (46.9%) died during follow-up, coexisting coronary artery disease being the major cause of death.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal / Q000473:pathology; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014463:Ultrasonography