Color Duplex Sonography Findings of the Carotid Arteries and Associated Risk Factors in Patients with Transient Ischemic Attack

Introduction. A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is an acute episode of temporary neurologic dysfunction that typically lasts less than an hour. Atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid arteries may cause TIA by lumen stenosis or plaque-related thromboembolism. The aim of this paper was to analyze the changes of the carotid arteries in patients with TIA and associated risk factors. Methods. A retrospective analysis of 62 TIA patients was performed. Color duplex sonography of the carotid arteries and risk factor assessment was carried out in all patients. Results. We analyzed 15(24%) females and 47(76%) males with TIA, aged 45-79 years. The most frequent risk factor was hypertension, present in 57 patients (91.9%). The most common findings of the extracranial segments of the carotid arteries were atheromatous plaques present in 25.8% and low-grade stenosis (40-59%) visualized in 24.1% of patients. Multiple plaques predominated, mostly localized in the region of bifurcation and the beginning of the internal carotid artery (67.7%), with irregular surface (in 58.1%), heterogenous structure (70.9%) and mostly hypoechogenic (46.8%). Conclusion. These data have demonstrated a significant relationship between carotid artery ultrasound plaque characteristics and TIA occurrence. That is why color duplex sonography of the carotid arteries should be carried out in all TIA patients and risk factors should be evaluated, in order to take appropriate therapeutic measures for prevention of definitive stroke.