FEATURES OF FORMATION OF COLLATERAL CIRCULATION IN PATIENTS WITH SUBCLAVIAN STEAL SYNDROME

To date in patients with subclavian steal syndrome diagnosis is only grade of stenosis or localization of occlusion described. Authors recommend to take into account also type of a collateral compensation of cerebral circulation for selection of an optimal treatment The objective of the research was to study the features of formation of collateral circulation in patients with subclavian steal syndrome. The authors described changes in the direction of blood flow in the extracranial vessels of 42 patients with subclavian steal syndrome. Latent subclavian steal syndrome was detected in 26.2% of patients, transient subclavian steal syndrome was found in 54.8% of patients, and a persistent course of the disease was observed in 19.9% of patients. Symptoms of vertebrobasilar insufficiency were detected in 26.6% of patients, and combination of chronic upper extremity ischemia and vertebrobasilar insufficiency was diagnosed in 73.8% of patients. When analyzing the features of collateral circulation in 64.3% of patients the extracranial compensatory mechanism was observed being provided by three main groups of collateral hemodynamic reallocation: the occipito-vertebral hemodynamic mechanism of compensation was detected in 38.1% of cases, the thyroid compensatory mechanism was found in 16.7% of cases, and the brain stem-occipital compensatory mechanism was observed in 9.5% of cases. In 35.7% of patients the intracranial compensatory mechanism was observed being provided by two main groups of collateral hemodynamic reallocation: the vertebro-vertebral compensatory mechanism was found in 21.4% of cases and cerebrobasilar compensatory mechanism was detected in 14.3% of cases. Consideration of the features of collateral circulation in patients with subclavian steal syndrome may serve as a prognostic criterion for selecting an optimal treatment tactics.Each of compensatory mechanisms has its own hemodynamic peculiarities. The occipito- vertebral compensatory mechanism has the most positive influence on the compensationof hemodynamic failure of the vertebrobasilar basin.