Distribution and characteristics of lesion blood vessels in patients with transient ischemic attack

Gao Dongyan; Yu Zhanming; Wang Limin

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-4055.2017.10.33

Abstract：Objective To discuss the distribution and characteristics of lesion blood vessels in patients with transient ischemic attack (TIA).Methods TIA patients (n=102, male 49, female 53, aged from 20 to 81 and average age=59.7±6.3) were chosen from the Beijing Pinggu Hospital from Jan. 2011 to Dec. 2015. All patients were divided, according to age, into young group (aged from 18 to 45,n=26), middle-aged group (aged from 46 to 60,n=25) and elderly group (aged>60,n=51). The characteristics of intracranial and extracranial artery stenosis and distribution were analyzed by using digital subtraction angiography (DSA).Results Among 102 TIA patients, there were 90 (88.2%, 90/102) with positive results of DSA. There were 146 intracranial and extracranial artery stenoses or occlusion, among them 82 (56.2%, 82/146) intracranial artery stenoses, including 14 mild stenoses, 22 medium stenoses, 29 severe stenoses and 17 occlusion. There were 64 (43.8%, 64/146) extracranial artery stenoses, including 18 mild stenoses, 11 medium stenoses, 25 severe stenoses and 10 occlusion. The stenosis of middle cerebral artery was the most common in intracranial artery stenosis, and stenosis of extracranial internal carotid artery was the most common in extracranial artery stenosis. There were 90 patient with artery stenosis, and 41 (40.2%) with intracranial artery stenosis, 9 (8.8%) with extracranial artery stenosis, and 40 (39.2%) with intracranial and extracranial artery stenosis. The incidence rate of intracranial artery stenosis was significantly higher (65.4%vs. 25.5%) and that of extracranial artery stenosis was significantly lower (3.8%vs. 11.8%) in young group than that in elderly group (allP<0.05). The percentage of patients with intracranial and extracranial artery stenosis increased significantly in middle-aged group and elderly group compared with young group (allP<0.05). The correlation analysis showed that age was negatively correlated to severity of intracranial artery stenosis (r=-0.712,P<0.05), and positively correlated to extracranial artery stenosis (r=0.647, P<0.05) in TIA patients.Conclusion The most of TIA patients has intracranial and extracranial artery stenosis, and the percentage of patients with intracranial artery stenosis is higher than that of patients with extracranial artery stenosis. The severity of artery stenosis is correlated to age.