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(Stroke. 2006;37:3032.)
© 2006 American Heart Association, Inc.

Research Report

Risk Factors for Early Recurrent Cerebral Ischemia Before Treatment of Symptomatic Carotid Stenosis

From Department of Neurology (A.K., K.G.), University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany; Department of General Neurology (A.K., K.G.), Center of Neurology and Hertie–Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Neuroradiology (U.E., T.N.), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.

Correspondence to Andreas Kastrup, MD, Department of Neurology, University of Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Str. 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany. E-mail andreas.kastrup{at}medizin.uni-goettingen.de

Background and Purpose— In patients with a recently symptomatic carotid stenosis, surgical or interventional treatment is often delayed for weeks to months. Because therapy should be instituted as early as possible in patients at highest risk for recurrent ischemia, the aim of this study was to identify these individuals using clinical data and serial diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI).

Methods— One hundred thirty-one patients (98 male; mean age 68±9 years) who had been referred to our department within 14 days (median; interquartile range, 4 to 36 days) after experiencing an ischemic event caused by a carotid stenosis were followed-up until carotid angioplasty and stenting. Risk factors predicting recurrent transient ischemic attack, stroke, or new DWI lesions were examined.

Results— During a median follow-up period of 7 days (interquartile range, 5 to 13 days) no patient experienced a stroke, 4 patients (3.1%) developed a hemispherical transient ischemic attack, and in 15 patients (12%) new asymptomatic DWI lesions were present in the territory of the treated artery. Multivariable regression analysis revealed that motor symptoms (odds ratio, 5.6; 95% CI, 1.2 to 26.3; P<0.05) or the presence of a contralateral carotid occlusion (odds ratio, 4.6; 95% CI, 1.0 to 20.4; P<0.05) were significant independent predictors of further cerebral ischemic events before carotid angioplasty and stenting.

Conclusions— In patients with a recently symptomatic carotid stenosis, the risk of early recurrent ischemia is highest in those with motor symptoms and in those with a contralateral carotid occlusion. In these high-risk patients urgent preventive treatment might be warranted.

Key Words: brain ischemia • diffusion-weighted imaging • risk factors • symptomatic carotid stenosis • stroke recurrence

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