Preoperative Carotid Artery Evaluation in 1045 Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

Backgrounds/ To evaluate the prevalence of significant carotid artery stenosis and its determining factors in candidates of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Patients and 1045 consecutive CABG candidates underwent carotid artery Doppler examination in a cross sectional study. The relation of age, gender, history of smoking and diabetes, as well as lipid profile to significant carotid stenosis was evaluated. In study subjects, mean age of 60.57±9.3 years, the prevalence of significant carotid stenosis (>60%) was 6.9%. In subjects older than 65 years the significant stenosis tolled to 12.5%. Over 50 years of age, female gender, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes were independent determining factors for significant carotid stenosis. Significant carotid stenosis has significantly higher prevalence among patients over 50 years of age. Cost benefit studies are recommended to revise the current evaluation protocols.