People most at risk for carotid artery stenosis can be identified with a simple ultrasound test, found an Austrian study, which appeared online today in the journal Neurology.
Asymptomatic carotid stenosis is caused by plaque buildup in the arteries. If plaque becomes lodged in the small vessels in the brain, it may cause a stroke. Only a small number of carotid artery stenosis patients will suffer a stroke, however, said lead researcher Dr. Raffi Topakian of the Academic Teaching Hospital Wagner-Jauregg in Linz, Austria.
"We found with two ultrasound methods we could differentiate the patients who are at very low risk of suffering a stroke--lower than 1 percent per year--from patients at high risk of stroke--higher than eight percent per year," said Topakian.
Most patients can manage their condition with cholesterol-lowering drugs, blood pressure-lowering drugs and blood thinners such as aspirin. But those identified by the ultrasound tests to be at highest risk may be candidates for the surgical procedure called endarterectomy, which clears arteries of plaque.
Patients with high blood pressure, high cholesterol or heart disease are also candidates for the ultrasound, said Topakian, which can identify the right candidates for surgery.
