Prevalence of atherosclerotic involvement of the internal carotid artery in hypertensive patients.
The prevalence of atherosclerotic involvement of the internal carotid arteries, as diagnosed through an echo-Doppler imaging system with pulsed Doppler spectral analysis was evaluated in 49 hypertensives who had a negative history for neurological symptoms and 49 matched controls. The prevalence was 24.5% in the hypertensive group and 10.2% in the controls with a statistically significant difference (chi-square = 6.07, P less than 0.01). Two hypertensives had severe stenosis (above 50% diameter reduction) and 7 had potentially embolic lesions (irregular surface, inhomogeneous appearance). No one of the matched controls was as severely involved. We conclude that arterial hypertension can account for enhanced prevalence of carotid artery disease in asymptomatic patients.
Lusiani
L
L
Istituto di Medicina Clinica, Clinica Medica I, Università di Padova, Italy.
Visonà
A
A
Castellani
V
V
Ronsisvalle
G
G
Scaldalai
E
E
Carraro
L
L
Bonanome
A
A
Pagnan
A
A
Dal Palù
C
C
D000328:Adult; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors