Extracranial carotid plaque is increasing in Japanese ischemic stroke patients.
OBJECTIVE
The objectives of this study were to investigate the prevalence of extracranial carotid plaque and the association between risk factors and carotid plaque in Japanese patients with ischemic stroke.


METHODS
We consecutively recruited patients with ischemic stroke admitted to our hospital from January 2000 to September 2002. Neurologic signs and a brain magnetic resonance imaging diagnosed ischemic stroke. All subjects underwent a carotid ultrasonography. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine the risk factors that independently contributed to the presence of carotid plaques.


RESULTS
Carotid plaques were identified in 76.2% of the patients and bilateral plaques were found in 58.2%. These lesions were more frequent in comparison with previous Japanese reports. The risk factors that independently contributed to the presence of extracranial carotid plaques were hypertension, age, smoking and past history of ischemic stroke.


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates that extracranial carotid plaque is increasing in Japanese patients with ischemic stroke.
Katsumata
T
T
Internal Medicine, Division of Neurology, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan. katumata@nms.ac.jp
Nishiyama
Y
Y
Yamaguchi
H
H
Otori
T
T
Nakamura
H
H
Tanaka
N
N
Katayama
Y
Y
D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000150:complications*; D017536:Carotid Artery, Common; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000208:ethnology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000209:etiology*; D014463:Ultrasonography