Asymptomatic occlusive lesions of carotid and intracranial arteries in Japanese patients with ischemic heart disease: evaluation by brain magnetic resonance angiography.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to elucidate the prevalence and degree of asymptomatic occlusive lesions in the carotid and intracranial arteries in Japanese patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD).


METHODS
We performed carotid and intracranial MR angiography (MRA) on 67 patients (49 men, 18 women; age range, 40 to 78 years; mean age, 60.1 years) who had received selective coronary angiography for the clinical diagnosis of IHD. On the basis of these images, degree of stenosis in the regions of the bilateral carotid artery bifurcation and five regions of the intracranial arteries, ie, bilateral intracranial portions of the internal carotid arteries and the middle cerebral arteries and the basilar artery were estimated.


RESULTS
Stenosis of more than 25% narrowing of the diameter of the target arteries was found in 15 patients (22.4%) in the extracranial carotid arteries and in 11 patients (16.4%) in the intracranial arteries. Most of the stenotic lesions were mild. The incidence of extracranial carotid stenosis and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis showed a significant correlation. The mean age of the patients with intracranial arterial lesions was statistically higher than those without intracranial lesions.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that asymptomatic occlusive lesions in the carotid and intracranial arteries are fairly common in Japanese patients with IHD, although the degree of stenosis is relatively mild. Coexistence of carotid atherosclerosis should be suspected in IHD patients with severe coronary atherosclerosis, and the possibility of atherosclerosis in the intracranial arteries should be considered in aged IHD patients.
Uehara
T
T
Neurology Service, Hyogo Brain and Heart Center at Himeji, Japan.
Tabuchi
M
M
Hayashi
T
T
Kurogane
H
H
Yamadori
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001157:Arterial Occlusive Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D001488:Basilar Artery / Q000473:pathology; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal / Q000473:pathology; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D002539:Cerebral Arterial Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002536:Cerebral Arteries / Q000473:pathology; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002537:Intracranial Arteriosclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D007564:Japan; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D015995:Prevalence