13 Sep Ischemic Stroke: Predicting Asymptomatic CAD from Intracranical Arterial Calcifications
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Eung Y. Kim
Department of Radiology
Gachon University Medical Center
Incheon, South Korea.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: The extent of calcification involving intracranial artery significantly correlates with that of coronary artery in patients with ischemic stroke. The Agatston score measured in the intracranial arteries may be an independent predictor of asymptomatic coronary artery disease in patients with ischemic stroke.
MedicalResearch.com: Were any of the findings unexpected?
Answer: There was no significant correlation of the calcium score or volume between the middle cerebral artery and coronary artery. It may be because the number of patients with calcifications in their middle cerebral arteries was only 6 (1.9%).
MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Answer: One of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with ischemic stroke is coronary artery disease (CAD), which does not show any symptoms or signs in many cases when they present. Therefore, identifying patients at high risk of asymptomatic CAD by using unenhanced head CT would be helpful in the care of patients with stroke by providing guidelines for CAD screening.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Answer: Our study was conducted in a retrospective manner. Thus, a prospective study with larger population may help provide a score of intracranial artery calcification with higher sensitivity and specificity for prediction of asymptomatic CAD. Additionally, it would be interesting to see if Caucasian patients show the same result because it has been reported that they have relatively lower prevalence of intracranial atherosclerosis.
Citation:
Ischemic Stroke: Measurement of Intracranial Artery Calcifications Can Improve Prediction of Asymptomatic Coronary Artery Disease
Radiology. 2013 Sep;268(3):842-9. doi: 10.1148/radiol.13122417. Epub 2013 May 14.
Ahn SS, Nam HS, Heo JH, Kim YD, Lee SK, Han KH, Choi BW, Kim EY.
Department of Radiology, Research Institute of Radiological Science, Department of Neurology, and Biostatistics Collaboration Unit, Medical Research Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; Department of Radiology, University Hospital, 234 Goodman St, Cincinnati, OH 45219
Last Updated on December 21, 2014 by Marie Benz MD FAAD