Predictive value of carotid bruit for carotid atherosclerosis
T. J. Ingall, D. Homer, J. P. Whisnant, H. L. Baker Jr and W. M. O'Fallon
Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905.
To assess the predictive value of carotid bruit for moderate-to-severe
carotid atherosclerosis, the results of carotid arteriograms performed on
1004 subjects were correlated with the findings of auscultation of the
carotid arteries. Predictive values of carotid bruit for ipsilateral
extracranial carotid atherosclerosis were 77% for localized bruits and 74%
for diffuse bruits. The predictive values of extracranial carotid bruit for
ipsilateral intracranial carotid atherosclerosis were 16% for localized
bruits and 18% for diffuse bruits. Assessing both carotid arteries
together, the predictive value of carotid bruit for moderate-to-severe
atherosclerosis at any extracranial carotid site was 85%, there being no
difference whether the bruits were diffuse, localized, bilateral, or
unilateral. Diffuse or localized bruits, whether unilateral or bilateral,
are equally predictive of moderate-to-severe atherosclerosis in the
extracranial carotid artery, but both are poor predictors of intracranial
carotid artery disease.
