COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS WITH DIFFERENT TYPES OF CAROTID LESIONS

Abstract

Objective: The aim of our research was to study the cognitive function and its relation with the types of carotid arteries lesions (CL) in patients with hypertension. Design and method: 67 hypertensive patients (35 men and 32 women) were examined (median age 51 [45;55] y., hypertension duration 3 [2;5] y). Cognitive function was assessed by the Montreal Cognitive Rating Scale (MoCA). The subjects underwent duplex scanning of the carotid arteries on a Samsung HS50 2021. The results were statistically processed using Statistica 10 program. Results: The patients included in the study were divided into 4 groups according to the type of CL: group 1 (n = 39) without pathological carotid tortuosity (PCAT) and atherosclerotic plaques (AP); group 2 (n = 11) with PCAT, but without AP; group 3 (n = 11) with AP<70% stenosis and without PCAT, and group 4 (n = 6), which has both PCAT and AP<70% stenosis. The groups did not differ significantly in gender and age (p>0.05). Cognitive function levels were significantly higher in group 1 (28[26;29] points) when compared with group 2 (20[19;20] points, p = 0.000001), with group 3 (24[20;26] points, p = 0.00004), and with group 4 (19[19;23] points, respectively, p = 0.00009). In group 2 the MoCA level was significantly lower than in group 3 (p = 0.019). The lowest MoCA level was in group 4, though but because of the small sample of patients, the differences did not reach the level of statistical significance (p>0.05, when compared with group 2). The MoCA level was in negative correlation with the presence of CL (PCAT + AP) (r = -0.77; p<0.05). A similar correlation between the MoCA level and PCAT was in group 2 (r = -0.81; p<0.05). Conclusions: In patients with hypertension, there is a negative correlation between the cognitive function and the presence of different variants of carotid lesions. The most severe decline of cognitive function was observed in hypertensives with both atherosclerotic plaques and pathological carotid tortuosity.