Decrease of arterial wall shear stress (WSS) is associated with higher probability of atherosclerotic plaque development in many disease conditions. End-stage renal diseases (ESRD) patients suffer from vascular disease frequently, but its nature differs from general population. This study was aimed at proving an association between common carotid wall shear stress and the presence of carotid bi...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Besides the severity of carotid artery stenosis, atherosclerotic plaque composition is an important determinant of cerebral symptoms. We analyzed the relationship between the composition of the atherosclerotic plaque at the carotid artery bifurcation and ipsilateral ischemic cerebral lesions on MR imaging. METHODS Forty-one patients with symptomatic carotid artery steno...

Study Objective. To describe the clinical presentation, evaluation, and treatment of a hypoglossal schwannoma. Methods. We report an unusual case of a hypoglossal schwannoma presenting as a pulsatile level II neck mass at the bifurcation of the external and internal carotid arteries, mimicking a carotid body tumor. Radiologic findings are reviewed in detail. Results. A 59-year-old female presen...

Various mechanical phenomena are thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Most finite-element analyses of arterial-wall mechanics to date have focused on the quantification of mechanical wall stresses, despite an abundance of experimental evidence suggesting that endothelial and smooth muscle cells readily respond to cyclic strain. In this study, we calculate the physiologi...

Studies in adults have shown marked changes in geometry and relative positions of the carotid arteries when rotating the head. The aim of this study was to quantify the change in geometry and analyze its effect on carotid hemodynamics as a result of head rotation. The right carotid arteries of nine young adult subjects were investigated in supine position with straight and left turned head posi...

INTRODUCTION Treatment of wide-necked bifurcation aneurysms often poses procedural and long-term outcome challenges. The initial preclinical experience with the Pulsar Vascular Aneurysm Neck Reconstruction Device (PVANRD) in a canine bifurcation model is described. METHODS Experimental bifurcation vein pouch aneurysms were surgically created in the carotid arteries of eight dogs. Endovascular...

Axial velocities were measured in an enlarged, two-dimensional, rigid model of the carotid artery bifurcation by means of a laser-Doppler anemometer, under both steady and unsteady flow conditions. Also a numerical model was developed, based on the finite element approximation of the Navier-Stokes and continuity equations. From this study it appeared that the numerically predicted velocities ag...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Syncope and carotid sinus reactions (CSR) occur frequently in patients undergoing carotid angioplasty (CA). We investigated risk factors and the neurological consequences of carotid sinus syncope induced by CA. METHODS We examined 359 consecutive patients. Patients underwent assessment of cerebrovascular reserve before CA and continuous electroencephalographical monitor...

To evaluate the association between common carotid intima-media thickness and noninvasively assessed atherosclerosis elsewhere in the carotid artery, we used data from the Rotterdam Study, a single-center population-based, prospective follow-up study among 7983 subjects aged 55 years or older. Baseline measurements included ultrasonographic evaluation of the vessel wall characteristics of the c...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Calcification in the coronary arteries has been correlated with significant vessel stenosis. The predictive value of calcification within the carotid siphon has not been characterized; however, stenosis in the carotid siphon is potentially important in determining management of patients with ipsilateral carotid bifurcation stenosis. The purpose of this study was to determ...