Basilar artery diameter is an independent predictor of incident cardiovascular events.
Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol
; 33(9): 2240-4, 2013 Sep.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-23661676
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Basilar arterial (BA) dolichoectasia is associated with cerebral small-vessel disease and stroke. However, the association between moderate dilation of the BA and cerebral small-vessel disease or subsequent cardiovascular events remains unclear. This study aims to clarify the factors related to BA diameter and to clarify whether the BA diameter is an independent predictor of cardiovascular events. APPROACH ANDRESULTS:
The study subjects comprised 493 outpatients with atherosclerotic risk factors. BA diameter, lacunar infarct, severity of deep white matter hyperintensities, and intracranial steno-occlusive lesions were assessed with MRI and magnetic resonance angiography. Then, we prospectively evaluated the association between BA diameter and cardiovascular events. The BA diameter ranged from 1.1 to 5.2 mm, and only 0.8% of the patients had dolichoectasia. Male sex, the presence of lacunar infarcts, the severity of deep white matter hyperintensities, the fetal-type variation of the circle of Willis, and intracranial steno-occlusive lesions were independently associated with BA diameter. In the mean follow-up of 6.0 years, 91 patients developed cardiovascular events. BA diameter was independently associated with total cardiovascular events after adjusting for age, sex, and conventional risk factors (hazard ratio, 1.55 per 1 mm increase in BA diameter; P=0.009).CONCLUSIONS:
Increased BA diameter within the normal range is related to both large-vessel disease and cerebral small-vessel disease, and it could be a new predictor of cardiovascular events.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Basilar Artery
/
Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency
/
Cardiovascular Diseases
Type of study:
Etiology_studies
/
Incidence_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
En
Journal:
Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol
Journal subject:
ANGIOLOGIA
Year:
2013
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Japan