Carotid Bruits in 1,000 Normal Subjects

Since Hunt,¹in 1914, called attention to the importance of carotid insufficiency there has been increasing interest in the clinical identification of carotid artery narrowing or occlusion. Arteriography,²,³ophthalmodynamometry,⁴contralateral carotid compression,⁵,⁶and palpation of the carotid arteries in the neck⁷and pharynx⁸have all been recommended as diagnostic measures. The simplicity of carotid artery auscultation commends it as a means of detecting narrowing of the homo- or contralateral lumen, since bruits have been identified in patients with carotid insufficiency.⁹ However, children have been reported to have cranial bruits which are of no pathological significance,¹⁰and attention has been called to the innocence of supraclavicular bruits in adults.¹¹The possibility has also been raised that abdominal bruits in adults may not signify vascular disease.¹² Accordingly, it seemed appropriate to determine the incidence of carotid artery bruits in persons without neurological disease. Methods One thousand patients were randomly selected from a group of presumed normal individuals from the clinic and ward census