Prevalence of Significant Carotid Artery Stenosis in Patients with Significant Atherosclerotic Peripheral Arterial Disease

Abstract

Background: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and carotid occlusive disease (COD) are both known to be specific manifestations of atherosclerosis so can be correlated to each other. An important area of investigation is to identify those with significant carotid artery stenosis (CAS) to reduce the risk of cerebrovascular events. Duplex ultrasound scanning (DUS) is considered a valuable imaging modality to evaluate carotid arteries with high sensitivity and specificity and virtually non-existent hazards.