[Arterial stiffness in patients with acute cerebrovascular accident].

OBJECTIVE

To identify correlations between parameters of vascular stiffness and characteristics of the clinical course of acute cerebrovascular accident (stroke).

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

Two hundred and seven patients with stroke (mean age 64.6±10.9 years; 115 men) treated in a neurological department of «Municipal Clinical Hospital Br. Bakhrushins of the Health Care Department of Moscow» were studied. All patients underwent a standard neurological and clinical-instrumental examination, including assessment of arterial stiffness by sphygmography. Analysis of the data was carried out depending on the severity of stroke and the pathogenetic subtype of stroke.

RESULTS

The pathological value of the CAVI was detected in all patients with cerebral infarction. The highest values were noted in patients with an atherothrombotic subtype of stroke. A positive correlation was revealed between CAVI and the age of patients (r=0.57; p=0.0001), left ventricular myocardial mass index (r=0.55; p=0.0001), NIHSS score (r=0.6; p=0.0001) The inverse correlation was found between CAVI and glomerular filtration rate (r= -0.4; p=0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

The factors determining the severity of stroke are age, arterial hypertension, type 2 diabetes, carotid atherosclerosis, left ventricular remodeling, and decreased glomerular filtration rate. The CAV and the toe-brachial index, rather than the ankle-brachial index, significantly distinguished patients with ischemic stroke from patients with transient ischemic attack.