title: Relationship between asymptomatic intra-cranial lesions and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity in coronary artery disease patients without stroke.
abstract: Little is known about the significance of asymptomatic intra-cranial lesions (ICL) identified by brain MRI in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Silent cerebral lesions are suggested to be associated with arterial stiffness in healthy subjects. We investigated whether subclinical ICL are associated with arterial stiffness and the prognosis in CAD patients without medical history of cerebrovascular diseases. We recruited CAD patients who required percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), did not meet exclusion criteria, and agreed with MRI before PCI. Subjects were divided into two groups according to the presence of ICL of cerebral microbleeds or lacunar infarction. Arterial stiffness was evaluated by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Clinical outcome was defined as a composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, unstable angina and heart failure. In total, 149 patients underwent brain MRI. Patients with ICL (n=55) had significantly higher baPWV than those without ICL (1591-2204 vs. 1450-1956 cm per sec; P=0.009). A multivariate analysis showed that male sex (odds ratio (OR), 3.15; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.38-7.20; P=0.006) and baPWV (OR, 1.001; 95% CI, 1.000-1.002; P=0.023) were predictors of ICL. In total, 12 patients experienced a cardiovascular event. The Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated a significantly higher incidence of cardiovascular events in patients with ICL (log-rank test: P=0.018). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analyses indicated that ICL finding was a significant predictor of clinical outcome (hazard ratio, 3.41; 95% CI, 1.02-11.5; P=0.047). Patients with subclinical ICL had a higher baPWV and worse prognoses than those without ICL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Noriaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tabata
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sueta
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Takayoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Utsunomiya
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Arima
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Eiichiro
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsujita
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Sunao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kojima
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kaikita
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hokimoto
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D055109:Ankle Brachial Index; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology*; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000503:physiopathology; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000502:physiology*