The evaluation of medical imaging to the diagnosis of extracranial carotid artery stenosis with ischemic cerebrovascular disease

Purpose To estimate the value of the medical imaging in the evaluation of the extracranial carotid artery stenosis Methods 15 patients, 30 carotid arteries were studied with Doppler ultrasound(DUS), MR angiography(MRA). CTMRI of the brain was done at the same time . 5 patients were also examined by CT angiography (CTA). The result in 4 patients was compared with images obtained with digital subtraction angiography (DSA). 6 patients with severe stenosis received carotid endarterectomy. Results 30 carotid arteries studied included mild stenosis in 8, moderate in 6, severe in 8, normal in 6 and occlusion in 2. In 8 cases of carotid arteries with severe stenosis, there were more infarction lesions revealed on the ipsilateral narrowing carotid artery. The larger volume of the middle cerebral artery distribution infarction followed the occlusion of the carotid artery on the ipsilateral side in 2. Plaques were well delineated in CTA, and confirmed by operation. Conclusions There was close relationship between the carotid artery stenosis and cerebral infarction. The combined use of DUS, MRA, and CTA played an important role in the screening, diagnosing, and monitoring of the carotid artery stenosis.