Asymptomatic carotid artery bruits in a population of elderly adults with isolated systolic hypertension.

Abstract

A sample of 99 elderly (over age sixty) adults with isolated systolic hypertension were examined for cervical arterial bruits and systolic blood pressure measurements were taken in upper and lower extremities. The ratio of ankle to arm blood pressure (ankle/arm index) was used as a measure of the degree of obstruction in peripheral arterial circulation. The prevalence of bruit (asymptomatic in all cases) was high, with 24 bruits detected in 19 (19%) participants. This high prevelance of bruits is thought to be due to the blood pressure characteristics of this population. Those with bruit were found to have a 3.9 times greater chance of having an abnormal ankle/arm index. The relationship remained statistically significant even after controlling for the effects of age and smoking. These findings add further evidence to the hypothesis that asymptomatic cervical bruits are an indication of systemic vascular disease.