Preoperative carotid artery screening in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

摘要

BACKGROUND: The incidence of stroke is 2.1-5.2% in bypass surgery patients with a mortality of 0-38%. This study was designed to evaluate the incidence of significant carotid artery stenosis and its related risk factors in candidates for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. METHODS: One thousand forty five consecutive candidates for CABG underwent carotid artery Doppler examination in a prospective study. The relation of age, sex, smoking and diabetes history, as well as lipid profile with carotid stenosis, was evaluated. RESULTS: In 1045 CABG candidates with a mean age of 60 years, prevalence of significant carotid stenosis (>60%) was 6.9%. In the patients aged 65 years and older, the rate of significant stenosis was 12.5%. Age >50 years, female gender, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes mellitus are independent risk factors for significant carotid stenosis. CONCLUSIONS: Significant carotid stenosis has an earlier appearance in our study. Cost-effectiveness studies are recommended for revising the previous screening protocols.