[In Process Citation]

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Vascular Medicine
• Cardiology

Background:

• Cigarette smoking is a prevalent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.
• High-grade carotid artery stenosis is a major cause of ischemic stroke.
• The association between smoking and carotid stenosis requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between cigarette smoking and high-grade carotid artery stenosis.
• To identify independent risk factors for carotid stenosis in patients with focal cerebral ischemia.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 404 patients with focal brain ischemia.
• Carotid artery stenosis diagnosed using Doppler-ultrasound (>= 70% luminal narrowing).
• Multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, gender, hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and heart disease.

Main Results:

• High-grade carotid stenoses (> or = 70%) were present in 25% of patients.
• Smokers had a significantly higher odds ratio (3.6) for high-grade carotid stenosis.
• Smoking's association strengthened with increasing stenosis severity (OR 4.3 for >= 80%).

Conclusions:

• Cigarette smoking is an independent determinant of severe carotid artery stenosis.
• Hypercholesterolemia and pre-existing heart disease were also associated with stenosis.
• Hypertension and diabetes mellitus were not significantly associated with high-grade carotid stenosis in this cohort.