Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0038454 (stroke)
 147,016 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence, clinical significance, and embolic potential of thoracic aortic plaque in patients with cerebral ischemia and to further study the correlation of aortic plaque with carotid or heart disease. We used transesophageal echography (TEE) to evaluate potential source of emboli in aortic arch and heart, and duplex in carotid artery. A atherosclerotic lesion of aortic arch was defined as normal (0), mild plaque (1), moderate plaque (2) and protruding plaque or mobile plaque (3). 75 of 100 patients were found to have atherosclerotic lesion in aortic arch. 16 of 75 patients over degree 2 exhibited no pathologic finding of heart or carotid and 4 of 16 patients were classified as degree 3. The pathologic findings of heart and carotid were significantly correlated with aortic plaque. Age, diabetes, CAD were also significantly correlated with aortic plaque. Aortic atherosclerosis was common in cerebral ischemia. Aortic plaque might be responsible for not only some unexplained embolic events, but also for some of the embolic stroke in patient who have carotid artery or heart disease. Age, diabetes, CAD might be important risk factors in the development of atherosclerotic lesion in the aortic arch.
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PMID:Aortic plaque as a potential cause for cerebral ischemia. 981 73

Atherosclerosis is a generalized process that may involve the entire vasculature as well as the coronary arteries. Aortic atherosclerosis (AA) is associated with an increased risk for recurrent ischemic stroke and cardiovascular death and can be diagnosed by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). We performed TEE in 60 patients (47 men and 13 women; age range 37-78, mean 53.5 +/- 9.9) who underwent coronary angiography, to assess whether atherosclerosis in the thoracic aorta correlates with coronary artery disease (CAD) or may be a marker for it. Significant CAD was defined as either > 50% reduction of internal diameter of the left main coronary artery or > 70% reduction of the internal diameter in the anterior descending, right coronary or circumflex artery. The number of diseased vessels was based on the Coronary Artery Surgery Study criteria. A grading system was used to detect AA. The thoracic aorta was considered to be normal and classified as grade I when the internal surface was smooth and without lumen irregularities or increased echo-intensity. Grade II changes consisted of increased echodensity of the intima without lumen irregularity or thickening. Grade III changes consisted of increased echodensity of intima with well defined atheroma extending < 3 mm in the aorta. Grade IV and V changes consisted of atheroma > 3 mm and protruding mobile plaques, respectively. Grades III-V were considered as AA. Twenty two of the 29 patients (75.9%) with CAD and 10 of the 31 patients (32.3%) without CAD had AA detected by TEE. There was a significant relationship between CAD and AA (r = 0.44, p < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of AA in detecting CAD were 75.9% and 67.7%, respectively. Our data suggest that AA is common in patients with significant CAD. Detection of AA by TEE may be a marker for CAD and early detection of aortic atherosclerosis may contribute to diagnostic and therapeutic interventions and thereby improve the prognosis.
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PMID:Aortic atherosclerosis is a marker for significant coronary artery disease. 1073 61

Aortic atherosclerosis is the most common disease of the aortic arch, and patients with complicated aortic atheroma should be considered at risk of stroke. There is indeed controversy about whether and how to treat these patients. This review analyzes the literature data about the epidemiology, the association between atheroma and stroke, the classification of aortic atheroma plaques, the imaging diagnostic process, the therapeutics options, and the clinical trials performed in this clinical setting.
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PMID:Aortic atheromas and stroke: review of literature. 2392 71