Abstract
To the Editor: The study by Reed et al. (Nov. 10 issue)1 demonstrated that the presence of a carotid bruit was associated with an increased risk of postoperative stroke or transient ischemic attack. Unfortunately, the carotid bruit is an insensitive and nonspecific marker of carotid stenosis. Perhaps less than half of cervical bruits are associated with a hemodynamically important lesion of the internal carotid artery.2,3 Furthermore, severe stenoses and total occlusions often do not produce an audible bruit. Two population-based studies have shown that a patient with an asymptomatic carotid bruit is more likely to have a myocardial infarction than…
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 936-938 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | New England Journal of Medicine |
Volume | 320 |
Issue number | 14 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 6 1989 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine