Özet:

Objective: Internal carotid artery stenosis is one of the main risk factors for stroke. Routine use of color Doppler ultrasonography in clinical practice to examine the patients for carotid artery stenosis varies according to the age groups. In the present study, predictive level of age groups and concomitant risk factors are scrutinized in terms of necessity of color Doppler ultrasonography to be routinely used along with the examination of carotid artery system in isolated coronary and concomitant carotid artery surgery. Material and Methods: Totally 172 patients (130 males and 42 females) underwent carotid endarterectomy in our clinic between April 2007 and June 2010. Seventy- seven (44.8%) of these patients had been detected during the screening prior to the coronary by-pass surgery, whereas 95 (55.2%) were the patients referred from the neurology clinic because of carotid artery stenosis. All of the patients were retrospectively reviewed in terms of age group and gender, as well as the presence of diabetes, hypertension and smoking. The patients were divided into two groups: those under the age of 65 and those at the age of 65 and over. All of the patients were examined for the prevalence of carotid artery stenosis and for the risk factors. Results: Sixty-three (36.6%) of the patients that underwent carotid endarterectomy were under the age of 65 (45-64 years). Thirty-one (18.1%) of these patients were those that would undergone coronary artery by-pass surgery. When the patients had undergone isolated and concomitant carotid artery endarterectomy were evaluated in terms of risk factors, diabetes and hypertension were found statistically significantly high in the younger group as compared to the patients at the age of 65 and over (p<0.05). However; in group 1, 55.6% of the patients were non diabetic and 36.5% were not hypertensive. Conclusion: It was observed higher rate of carotid artery stenosis in group 1 patients, whom are diabetics and hypertensive. However we detected many of patients without these risk factors. Therefore, we are of opinion that color Doppler ultrasonography should routinely take place together with physical examination in the preoperative evaluation of the patients with coronary artery disease in order not to overlook such critical carotid artery stenosis that would require surgical intervention.

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