Ischaemic Carotid Strokes Angiographic Investigation of 523 Patients

Abstract

Carotid angiography showed a lesion in more than two-thirds of this series of ischaemic carotid strokes; two-thirds of the lesions shown were in the neck vessels. Carotid narrowing (incomplete occlusion) in the neck was much commoner after the age of 50 years and was frequently associated wth a temporary stroke. Complete carotid occlusion in the neck did not become commoner with increasing age as did carotid narrowing; nor was it associated with previous temporary strokes (as was carotid narrowing). It is therefore doubtful whether complete occlusion is usually the end-result of narrowing. Persisting strokes were frequently preceded by one or more temporary strokes; these ‘warning strokes’ were more frequent in patients with carotid narrowing. Middle cerebral artery lesions accounted for two-thirds of all intracranial lesions; they were particularly common in association with pregnancy and rarely caused temporary strokes.