Detection of carotid stenosis in African Americans with ischemic heart disease.

Abstract

This study was conducted to define the frequency of internal carotid stenosis in African American patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD). We recruited 101 African American patients with IHD from a university medical center for carotid duplex examination. The frequency of >30%, >50%, and >70% stenosis was 21%, 11%, and 5%, respectively. Age >60 years (21% vs 3%, P < .01) and diabetes mellitus (22% vs 5%, P < .01) were predictors of unilateral stenosis of >50% and remained significant on multivariate testing. African American patients with established IHD have higher rates of extracranial carotid stenosis than community dwelling African American subjects and comparable rates with other populations.