Screening for high-grade asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation

The plea for screening for asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis [1] should be extended to patients with the association of asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis (CAS) and nonvalvular atrial fibrillation(NVAF). The rationale is that it is already recognised that high-grade CAS(stenosis of 50% or more) is prevalent in about 12% of NVAF patients aged>70 [2]. Furthermore, in a study where 103 consecutive ischemic stroke patients with NVAF and were screened for CAS, high-grade extracranial CAS was identified in 25 subjects.
Source: International Journal of Cardiology - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Letter to the Editor Source Type: research