Transient ischemic attacks, risk factors, and precerebral color doppler angiosonography

The aim of this study was to ascertain the importance of color-coded Doppler sonography (CCDS), a noninvasive examination technique, in early detection of atherosclerotic lesions in precerebral arteries. CCDS was utilized in a group of patients with one or several transient ischemic attacks (TIA) and in a group of non-TIA (NTIA) cases, so that the degree of atherosclerotic lesions of precerebral vessies in TIA and NTIA patients might be compared. The presence of risk factors for cerebrovascular disease (CVD) was compared in both groups as well. We examined 87 patients with TIA (38 women and 49 men), aged 19-86 years (mean, 60.97 ± 11.97 years) and 48 NTIA patients (22 women and 26 men), aged 35-85 years (mean,60.04 ± 9.37years). No statistically significant differences in age and gender were found between the groups. A significant difference was found between the common carotid artery intimal-medial thickness (CCA IMT) in TIA patients (CCA IMT right + left = 1.12 ± 0.44 mm) and NTIA patients (CCA IMT right + left = 0.91 ± 0.32 mm) (p < 0.0001). A positive significant association was found between both groups in the number of different plaques (p < 0.0001) and the number of stenoses (p < 0.0001). When risk factors were compared, the difference between TIA and NTIA groups was statistically significant in regard to high-density lipoproteins (p < 0.002), total cholesterol (p < 0.004), and blood glucose concentrations (p < 0.013), as well as systolic blood pressure (p < 0.011). In conclusion, Doppler sonographic changes in precerebral arteries were present in the TIA group in spite of the fact that both groups had identical risk factors for CVD. CCDS is a valuable aid for early detection of TIA patients who have a significant risk of developing brain infarction.