Ultrasound shows carotid stenosis in just half of cervical bruit cases

Abstract

Acervical bruit indicates the presence of substantial carotid stenosis only about half the time, according to researchers at the University of Toronto. They suggest that only in the minority of persons with a bruit and carotid stenosis—those in whom the stenosis is severe—is there a substantially increased risk of cerebrovascular events. Even then, the incidence of stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) is "surprisingly low," according to one of the Canadian clinicians. But cardiac events are more frequent and more often fatal. Those were the main conclusions that Brian Chambers, MD, a research fellow of the Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation at Sunnybrook Medical Centre of the University of Toronto, reported to the Ninth International Joint Conference on Stroke and Cerebral Circulation. He and James W. Norris, MD, professor of neurology, are interested in clarifying the risk of stroke and TIAs in persons with cervical bruits. "Our data would suggest