Journal of stroke and cerebrovascular diseases : the official journal of National Stroke Association
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J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis · Jul 2017
Review Meta AnalysisThe Association between Carotid Artery Atherosclerosis and Silent Brain Infarction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Carotid atherosclerosis is responsible for ~20% of ischemic strokes, but it is unclear whether carotid disease is associated with the presence of downstream silent brain infarction (SBI). We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to study the relationship between SBI and 2 separate manifestations of carotid atherosclerosis, carotid intima-media thickening (IMT) and luminal stenosis. ⋯ Two forms of atherosclerotic disease, carotid IMT and stenosis, are both significantly associated with SBI. This review highlights a lack of consistent definitions for carotid disease measures and little evidence evaluating SBI prevalence downstream from carotid stenosis.